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QUOTE:
‘You can’t govern if you are ungovernable yourself.” South African
ANC leader, Sipho Makana. (From Mark Gevisser’s: A Legacy of
Liberation)
Now that
we are starkly and forebodingly faced with the likely inevitability of
an impending Kiir Mayardit’s Second Reign in Juba, south Sudanese have
serious cause to worry about his second-time governance.
After the
First five years of disastrous misrule by President Kiir, south Sudanese
justifiably deserved a more competent leadership to lead them to the
coming independence and to set the basic foundation of our new South
Sudan Nation in 2011.
Inarguably, the accidental Kiir First Reign, which evolved into an
inescapable nightmare providentially forced on the south, was abominably
tainted by unending insecurity, a culture of impunity, lawlessness,
gross kleptocracy and other multiple crises.
Kiir was
and still is evidentially a weak leader who is constrained by many
shortcomings, but adamantly has chosen to hang on to power because of
the anachronistic ‘Dinka-must-be-ruler’ syndrome.
Incidentally, he’s the last surviving member of the original SPLM/A High
Command.
Kiir and
his accomplices should, after the fact, realize that you can’t govern
the nation if you are ungovernable yourselves -- that’s the reality.
In
furtherance to the ethnic domination strategy by his majority group,
Kiir had to manipulatively restructure the newly incarnated Military
Council so that his tribal group conserve and continue their domination
in the government.
As a
leader, Kiir seriously lacks any charismatic populism across the south
Sudan nation, an attribute that severely incapacitated his ability to
rule.
Compounding his enfeeblement, Kiir insensitively prefers to place the
ties of blood before the politics of principle in his calamitous
governance, such that the aggrieved south Sudanese majority have seen
nothing by corruption and criminal negligence to deliver the anticipated
peace dividends.
Whereas
insecurity continues to spark with ceaseless spontaneity and impunity,
the SPLA and its appendage i.e. the police, have demonstrated remarkable
ineptitude to contain the situation basically because the SPLA is still
a tribal army where the soldiers and their commanders act as tribal
aggregates.
Despite
millions of dollars having been spent on this supposedly embryonic
national army of the south Sudan nation, the not-so-well-weaponized and
notoriously undisciplined SPLA hasn’t morphed completely into a united
force.
Inconceivably, the dominant Dinka and Nuer soldiers continue to fester
in their historically hostile antagonism and stubbornly continue to pay
greater allegiance to their respective tribal commanders while the
so-called ‘smaller’ tribes are forever alienated and marginalized.
Miserably
failing to contain the sporadic deadly tribal fighting across the land,
the SPLA is perpetually unable to pay the soldiers’ salaries due to
endemic looting of the allotted budget by the senior officers, many of
whom are ostentatiously very, very rich.
Concerning
the paroxysms of tribal fighting chiefly over cattle that’s akin to the
legendary Wild West, it is embarrassing that in this Millennium, those
with thousands of cows haven’t envisaged a better, safer and modern way
of rearing these beasts.
As a
solution, either these cows are lawfully culled or limited
fenced-in grazing is enforced by State and county authorities as
deterrence.
With the
coming elections and the totally unpopular and definitely corrupt
selection process of candidates by the SPLM Electoral colleges and the
SPLM Political bureau, the SPLM itself is organically on a
self-destruction mode and internal rebellion.
Extemporaneously, many disgruntled and rejected prominent SPLM
personalities are openly in rebellion against Kiir’s leadership and
opting to stand as ‘independent’ candidates against those ‘corruptly’
chosen candidates.
Such a
divided party, absolutely bereft of cohesion, solidarity, morals and
principles, can’t be relied completely upon to lead the south Sudan
nation to full independence now and in the future
Gerrymandering with the elections nominations by SPLM Chairman, Kiir
Mayardit, has abundantly shown that patronage and sycophancy remain the
main tenets of his party, which isn’t new or surprising, after all.
The real
danger for the south is that many politically and monetary greedy and
self-serving SPLM leaders left out in the election process or who might
fail in the elections and not given back lucrative ministerial,
governorship or top jobs in the GOSS, will unashamedly gravitate to the
jellaba Arab north and the devious NCP of Al Beshir.
What these
unpatriotic ‘comrades’ will effect is a diabolic and disastrous
about-turn on the aspiration of the people of south for secession
because they will become vociferous proponents of unity with the Arab
north.
As US
Secretary Hillary Clinton aptly reminded the Kiir’s GOSS recently,
“In Southern Sudan, no matter the outcome of
the referendum, Southern Sudan must increase its institutional capacity
and prepare to govern responsibly, whether as a semiautonomous region
within Sudan or a newly independent nation. I have been tracking the
increasing interethnic and tribal violence in the South over the course
of 2009, and I share the concerns raised in recent reports that
highlight the death of more than 2,500 people and displacement of more
than 350,000. These stark figures illustrate the need for the Government
of South Sudan to improve governance and security in the South with the
assistance of international partners, including the United States.”
Truly, as Secretary
Clinton and others has repeatedly imputed, responsible governance is
woefully and sadly lacking in the south and this despicable cancer will
inevitably be carried on even to a post-referendum independent South
Sudan Nation, so long as Kiir hangs on to power.
Once again, Kiir
has been strongly implored by the UN
Secretary General to
start constructive deliberations with his jellaba NCP partners of the
CPA, not later, but now in the remaining few months BEFORE the 2011
Referendum on the vitally procrastinated issues like the South-North
Border demarcation, the oil revenues and nationality issue of
southerners in the north, among many other issues.
Without the normal
flow of the oil revenues to Kiir's GOSS from
the supposedly would-be
‘good neighborly’ Arab North, as Kiir himself said, South Sudan would
immediately be ‘Kwashiorkor-ed,’ and the whole country would be
ineluctably sent into a state of chaos.
That is great
cause for apprehension because without money, south Sudan in the absence
of good leadership, would simply and rapidly disintegrate and because a
lawless nation.
This begs the
important question: Has President Kiir saved some monies somewhere
outside to cover for that period when the jellaba Arab North would
maliciously and deliberately strangulate the newly independent South
Sudan Nation?
With all the
infamously corrupt thieves that have since been anointed by Kiir as his
finance ministers, all southerners have cause to worry because these
people most likely have "eaten" all the money and nothing is in reserve
for the nation.
Not surprisingly,
Kiir has never once apprehended, tried in court and incarcerated any
single alleged thief even when we have that compromised and redundant
so-called Anti-Corruption Commission.
Like Kenya, our
brotherly neighbors, South Sudan under Kiir has become a nation that
pathetically adores and glorifies thieves, especially if they belonged
to your own tribe.
Perhaps in
response to
the anticipated growing
pressure, Kiir constituted a special Taskforce under his deputy, Machar,
to delve into the same Post-referendum issues.
Unfortunately, Dr. Machar
himself, who covertly dreams about Kiir’s job itself, is an overloaded
man whose previous many assignments has been questionably inconclusive
and some were calamitous, like the LRA so-called peace debacle.
He might just be
cynically uneasy to see Kiir get all the credit that he truly doesn’t
deserve from Machar's own sweat.
Notwithstanding the
erroneous choice by Kiir, this taskforce should rightly be spearheaded
by a non-partisan personality from among the many southern
intellectuals, academicians, retired judges or other learned
southerners, not necessarily SPLM members.
After all, the south
belongs to all of us and it's imperative to have unanimity and consensus
during the post-referendum period for the survival of our new nation.
During this significant
election period, we need to be firmly assured by Kiir that freedom,
equality and justice are accorded to every southerner. There is need to
restrain his tribal boys who are recklessly and arbitrarily harassing or
intimidating other southerners in the name of security.
Finally, the fate and
future of the nation and the people of South Sudan are at a critical
stage whereby there is a compulsive imperative and necessity for a more
conscientious and dedicated leadership that has the ultimate foresight
to guide us to our final destination.
Do we have such a
leader--- that’s a cause to worry about?
SSN
Editor
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