SPLM Chairman’s 22nd Anniversary Address At a
Mass Rally in
Rumbek On 16th May 2005
1. Special Anniversary Greetings. Today, 16th of May
2005, is our 22nd anniversary. This year is a special
anniversary. It comes after we have signed the
Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) last January 9th
2005. This is therefore our last anniversary in the bush
and before we become the Government of Southern Sudan
(GOSS). This is a great and special day, and this is why
I have come to Rumbek to celebrate with you and with the
people of New Sudan. On the occasion of this 22nd
anniversary, I congratulate all officers, NCOs, men and
cadres of the SPLA; I congratulate all in the SPLM and
all in the CANS; I congratulate and all our civil
population from Nimule to Juba, Wau, Abyei, Malakal,
Kadugli and Damazine from Nimule to Halfa; Geneinna to
Kassala for achieving the CPA. I congratulate all of you
who are in this rally and through you and this rally I
greet all our people everywhere in Sudan and in
Diaspora, and congratulate them for achieving a fair and
just peace.
2. Tribute and Salute to the Martyrs. Before I make my
address on this special and great occasion of our 22nd
anniversary, I first pay tribute and salute the memory and
honour of all our martyrs, who have fallen in the struggle
for Sudanese dignity before independence, during the Anyanya
Movement and in the war that has just ended. It is because
of their ultimate sacrifice that it was possible to reach
the CPA. I salute the memory of these martyrs as a reminder
that they did not die in vain. The legacy and spirit of
their struggle and sacrifice will always guide us and all
generations to come toward a better and ever better Southern
Sudan and Sudan as a whole, whatever the result of the
referendum on self-determination will be at the end of the
six year Interim Period. I therefore ask you to stand and
observe one minute of solemn silence as a tribute and salute
to our martyrs and wounded heroes to whom we dedicate this
day and occasion … (after pause …). We shall hold special
celebrations of the 22nd anniversary for the founding units
of the SPLA – 105 and 104 Battalions, Jamus, Tiger and
Tumsah Battalions and Katibat Banat. This celebration will
be done in Bor as soon as conditions allow. Some veterans
from 105, 104, Jamus, Tiger, Tumsah and Katibat Banat are
here today. 104, 105, Tiger, Jamus, Tumsah and Katibat Banat
Oye! I greet you who are here and all your colleagues
everywhere. I also greet all the other historic units and
formations of the SPLA. Koryom Oye! Muormuor Oye! Zalzal Oye!
Infigar Oye! Mukushasha Oye! SPLA Oye! SPLM Oye! After the
celebrations of the initial four formations of the SPLA, we
shall also organize get-together celebrations for all units
and formations of the SPLA, so that these eventually become
annual events organized and funded by the members
themselves. We shall also organize occasions for Anyanya
veterans from who the SPLM/A took the torch of liberation
and freedom. Yes, we must keep, remember and glorify our
struggle and our history, because a people without a history
are doomed to extinction to become dinosaurs in history
books.
3. Local Insecurity Must Stop immediately. The struggle has
been long, 22 years today, and it has been hard. There has
been a great deal of suffering. More than one million people
have died of war and war-related causes; more than three
million have been displaced internally and as refugees, and
despite our best community efforts, the vast majority of our
children have lost opportunities for education. With
conclusion of the CPA all this suffering must now stop, but
ironically we are losing lives and property in this
sub-Region through sectional and clan fighting. I here ask
and here order that all sectional and clan fighting must
stop forthwith. All cattle rustling and cattle thefts and
the killings associated with them must stop forthwith. All
stolen cattle must be returned to their owners and lives
lost must be compensated according to customary law and all
necessary legal measures must be taken against the culprits
involved in this unnecessary fighting and unnecessary loss
of loves and property. I have come to Rumbek to celebrate
our last anniversary in the Bush, and also to use my
presence here to work with local authorities and the SPLM-LC
to bring to an immediate end the rampant insecurity that has
recently afflicted the three sub-Regions of Lakes, Warrap
and Western Upper Nile. Accordingly I have ordered all local
authorities of the three sub-Regions to Rumbek, and they
should already be here, so that we resolve this uncalled for
situation of local insecurity. So the Commissioners of all
Yirol Counties, all Rumbek Counties, all Tonj counties, all
Gogrial Counties and all bordering counties of Western Upper
Nile should be here along with the military authorities of
the 1st and 3rd Front. The insecurity must end immediately
and everything must be done to end it and to do justice to
victims. There must not be any unnecessary loss of live and
property when we have achieved the CPA.
4. Looking Back at 22 Years of Struggle As we celebrate 22
years of our heroic struggle and this time in peace, let us
look back and rearm ourselves with the inspiration that has
kept us for the last 22 years and has reached us this far.
As I said before, the struggle has been long and hard with
much causality in lives and property and lost opportunities.
But as long as the land and the cause are not lost,
everything else may be lost, but can and will be regained,
and much more added. The struggle itself as we look back has
been a miracle as it went forward and backwards, but overall
it went forward until we reached the CPA. The struggle will
go through four phases. We have already traveled through two
of these phases and two more are in front of us. These four
phases are: -
Four Phases of the Struggle:
• Phase 1: 1983 -- 1991: The golden years of the revolution
• Phase 2: 1991 -- 2004: Years of darkness, serious
struggle, negotiations.
• Phase 3: 2005 -- 2010: We have just begun 6 years of the
Interim Period.
• Phase 4: Beyond 2011: Post Interim Period; depends on
result of RSD. C How did we get to this peace agreement? It
is because we defined the problem we set out to solve
correctly. Our vision was correct -- to solve Mashkalaat
al-Sudan not al-Junub. From the vision flowed our
objectives, strategies and tactics. Our objectives were and
are: (a) New Sudan and (b) RSD. It is because of the
relentless war we fought all over the Sudan. It is because
we stayed the course, we were consistent and persistent. I
pay tribute to our martyrs, wounded heroes & SPLA – they
brought CPA and we will take care of the widows and orphans
and disabled. I pay tribute to our civil population, who
provided the logistics for the war, and the SPLM/GOSS will
faithfully serve you, the people by translating the CPA into
tangible benefits of development and services.
5. Forgiveness, Reconciliation and Unity. Now that we have
signed the CPA, our next and immediate task is to ensure
that it is implemented in letter and spirit, and in order to
do this correctly, my main message to you is on the need for
forgiveness, reconciliation and unity of the people of New
Sudan and the unity of your Movement, the SPLM/SPLA, so that
we are best able to face the challenges of peace that are
ahead of us. In order to implement the CPA, the unity of the
SPLM/A, and of the people of New Sudan, is of paramount
importance, indeed unity is a necessary condition for
successful implementation of the CPA because those opposed
to the CPA in both North and South will try to divide us and
use some of us to derail and renege on the CPA. Those who
are opposed to the CPA have no other weapon except to hope
that the SPLM/A and the people of Southern will be divided
as happened in 1991. This must not be allowed and everything
must be done to abort such diabolic plans. Our weapon to
stop such plans and ill-wishes is forgiveness, reconciliation
and unity. This was my main message in the recently held and
successful South-South Dialogue and it is my main message in
this anniversary celebrations. The “Covenant of the People
of Southern Sudan” which was the end-result of the
South-South Dialogue was signed by 24 Southern Sudanese
leaders and witnessed by former President Daniel Arap Moi.
It is only the leaders of Armed Groups affiliated to the GOS
that were not present at the South-South Dialogue, and this
is because the Government prevented them from traveling to
Nairobi. We will continue to work and I am personally in
contact with them to bring them into the process of
forgiveness, reconciliation and unity, so that we implement
the CPA in a stable and peaceful Southern Sudan and achieve
the aspirations of our people. There is no reason why these
Armed Groups should continue to be used as
counter-insurgency forces because the insurgency is over and
so the Government will have no use for them, and we welcome
them to the fold of Southern Sudan.
6. The CPA is good and it belongs to all Sudanese: As we
begin the 23rd year of our struggle, our main task as I said
before shall be to implement the CPA and to develop new
tools of struggle for this purpose. The CPA is good and it
belongs to all the Sudanese people, and so I appeal to all
Sudanese to support the CPA and to achieve consensus around
it. It is true that the CPA was negotiated by the SPLM and
NCP-GOS, however the CPA does not belong to the SPLM nor to
the NCP-GOS; it does not belong to John Garang and Ali Osman
who signed it; it belongs to all Sudanese; it belongs to
you, the people, and so you own it and use it for the
development and provision of basic services. Although some
of you have read the CPA and although it has been explained
to you many times, I want to summarize in twelve points what
the people of Southern Sudan, Nuba Mountains, Blue Nile and
Abyei and Sudanese in general have achieved in the CPA: -
(1) CPA Ends the War. The First great achievement of the CPA
is that it has ended a war that has lasted 22 years, and
more importantly it has ended the war through a just and
honorable peace with dignity. With the CPA there will be no
more bombs dropping from the sky on innocent children and
women. Instead of the cries of children and the wailing of
women and the pain of the last 22 years of war, peace will
bless us with prosperity and happiness. The CPA will move
our people away from war, insecurity, instability and
suffering to peace, security, stability and development.
This is a great achievement.
(2) Secondly, Right of Self Determination: At the end of six
years, southerners will vote in a free and internationally
monitored referendum on self-determination, to choose
whether to remain in a united Sudan under the “one country
two systems” arrangement, or opt for an independent Southern
Sudan. The challenge now for Sudan is to make unity
attractive to Southern Sudanese so that they vote for it
during the referendum. If unity is not made attractive, why
would any Southerner vote himself or herself into second
class citizenship? If Sudan does not sufficiently and
fundamentally change, why should anybody vote to become a
servant instead of being a master in his/her own independent
house? Clearly the Sudanese must work hard during the
Interim Period to make unity attractive, if they want the
Sudan to remain united as one country that accommodates all
its citizens equally.
(3) Third, North/South Border Demarcation: An issue related
to the right of self-determination is that of return to
Southern Sudan of all areas that were annexed to Northern
Sudan after 1956 by various Khartoum regimes. This will be
determined by a North/South Boundary Commission as provided
for in the CPA. These areas are in Bahr el Ghazal and Upper
Nile, and include Kafia Kingi and Hofret Nahas in Western
Bahr el Ghazal and Chali al-Fil in North Eastern Upper Nile.
Even Higlig is reported to have been recently annexed to a
newly created province in Kordofan called Keilak. The CPA
clearly states that the boundaries of Southern Sudan are as
they stood on 1/1/1956 and any areas that were part of
Southern Sudan by this date must be returned to the
administration of the GOSS.
(4) Real Power in the South within the context of a “One
Country Two Systems Model”. Southern Sudan shall have its
own Government of Southern Sudan (GOSS). It will be an
SPLM-based Government; and for the first time in its
history, Southern Sudan shall have genuine political power
that does not depend on the goodwill of the Central
Government, but that depends on the will of the people of
Southern Sudan. This power will be exercised in the context
of a “one country two systems” model, which the SPLM has
advocated since the Abuja talks in 1993 and during the IGAD
talks. The GOSS will exercise extensive, exclusive and
concurrent political powers including the power to initiate
and conclude international agreements in social, cultural,
educational and economic fields with foreign countries and
international organizations and to have offices abroad for
these purposes.
(5) Fifthly, Significant and Real Power in the Center. The
SPLM and Southern Sudan shall also have significant and real
power in the central government, as we shall have up to ten
full Ministers, eleven State Ministers and the office of the
1st Vice President, with powers as well as at least 25% of
posts in the national civil service as well as in the
administration of the National Capital. The SPLM and
Southern Sudan’s presence in Khartoum will not be token
representation as happened before. In the CPA we have
grouped the Ministries into three clusters: (a) Nine
Sovereignty Ministries from which we shall have three, (b)
Ten Economy Ministries from which we shall have three, and
(c) Eleven Services Ministries from which we shall have
four. We shall also have at least eleven State Ministers
also similarly clustered. We will put our best people in
these Ministries and we shall assert ourselves; nobody will
push us aside or marginalize us in any way in the cabinet to
which we shall belong by right not by invitation or someone
else’s goodwill. Our presence in the central government at
all levels will be real and effective and it shall be by the
authority of the CPA and the Interim National Constitution.
(6) Sixth, an independent SPLA during the Interim Period.
The SPLA shall remain a standing army under its own command
and shall be considered and treated equally with SAF as part
of Sudan’s National Armed Forces. Meanwhile a forty thousand
strong Joint Integrated Unit (JIU) is to be created of equal
numbers from the two armed forces to be deployed in Southern
Sudan, the two areas, the National Capital and Abyei. At the
end of six years if the result of the referendum on
self-determination is unity, the two armies will merge to
become one National Army; otherwise if the result is in
favour of independence, the SPLA would be transformed into
the national Army of Southern Sudan. The Security
Arrangements Agreement and the existence of two armies
during the Interim Period are the most important guarantees
for stability and implementation of the peace agreement, in
addition of course to the goodwill of the Parties and
international guarantees.
(7) Seventh, Wealth Sharing and Sources of Revenue for the
GOSS: Unlike the Addis Ababa Agreement, the CPA provides
Southern Sudan with its own organic sources of revenue that
do not depend on Khartoum. There are four such sources of
revenue, namely: (a) 50% of oil revenues, (b) 50% of non-oil
central government revenues generated in Southern, (c)
revenues generated by the GOSS by virtue of its taxing
powers; and (d) international assistance to Southern Sudan,
which will come directly to Southern Sudan through the Bank
of Southern Sudan (BOSS). And as you might have followed in
the News, the Oslo Donors Conference generated more than
four billion US dollars in pledges. At least 50% of these
pledges shall accrue to Southern Sudan and the rest for
other war affected areas in the North, i.e., of Nuba
Mountains, Southern Blue Nile, Abyei, Eastern Sudan and
Darfur as well as other neglected areas of the North.
(8) Eighth, Own Banking System for Southern Sudan. Southern
Sudan will also have its own secular banking system within
the context of a “one country two systems” model. We have
agreed that there will be one Central Bank of Sudan, but it
will have two windows, one window for Islamic banking for
the North, and one window for conventional banking for the
South. The secular window of the CBS will be operated by the
Bank of Southern Sudan (BOSS), which shall have the power to
open correspondent accounts with foreign banks of its
choice. This means that BOSS will operate with international
banks directly and only keep the Mother CBS informed.
Moreover there will be one currency for the country, which
shall be agreed upon by the Parties, but in the meantime the
currencies circulating in Southern Sudan are recognized,
that is why the Sudanese pound is operating in our areas as
legal tender until when we jointly issue the new agreed
currency. Unlike the case of the Addis Ababa Agreement,
Southern Sudan and GOSS shall make their financial
transactions with the CBS and with the international
community through the BOSS. The currency just issued in
Rumbek is not a new currency; its is old notes of the Sudan
Pound, which was circulating before, that has been reissued
as happens in any economy since notes get worn out; that is
why the exchange value is the same. I understand that the
quality of the paper of the currency is poor and that there
are other technical problems. These will be solved and the
notes improved to standard quality, and the New Sudan Pound
at the same market value as the old notes will continue to
circulate until when both the New Sudan pound and the Dinnar
are replaced by a new joint currency agreed to by the
Parties as came in the CPA.
(9) Ninth, Resolution of the Problem of Abyei. As you all
know the problem of Abyei is even older as that of the south
as Abyei was annexed to Kordofan in 1905, one hundred years
ago, while Southern Sudan was formally amalgamated with the
North in 1947 by the colonial regime and Darfur in 1916. The
CPA grants Abyei the right of self-determination, whereby
the people of Abyei will conduct a separate referendum but
the same day as Southerners to choose whether to remain in
the North or return to the South. The oil of Abyei is also
split six ways: 2% for Ngok Dinka, 2% for Missiriya, 2% for
Western Kodorfan State, 2% for Bahr el Ghazal, 42% for GOSS
and 50% for the GONU. And during the six years of the
Interim Period Abyei will be under a special Administration
under the supervision of the Presidency, and one Battalion
of JIUs for security in addition to international monitors
and observers. This is a major achievement and we
congratulate the people of Abyei and wish them well in their
new political dispensation.
(10) Tenth, the Two Areas Agreement. The two areas (Nuba
Mountains and Southern Blue Nile) also have a good Agreement
as part of the CPA. The CPA gives the SPLM 45% of power in
the two areas, resolves the problem of land, which was one
of the main reasons people of the two areas took up arms,
and provides for the Right of Popular Consultation after
four years for the people to give their views and decision
on the Agreement of the two areas. I want to assure the
people of the two areas that the SPLM will never abandon
them as some agitators say in their propaganda. Firstly, the
SPLA will remain in the two areas in the form of JIUs;
secondly excess forces above those required for the JIUs
will be deployed in the South together with other SPLA units
and they shall be under SPLA GHQ, and thirdly, it is the
same SPLM that shall form the GOSS and the 45% share in the
State Governments of Nuba Mountains and Southern Blue Nile.
As you can see both the SPLM and the SPLA will remain united
and the Two Areas are inseparable components.
(11) Eleventh, the SPLM shall remain a national political
Movement. The CPA enables the SPLM to retain its national
character and to expand all over the Sudan. The SPLM shall
consolidate itself in Southern Sudan where we shall have 70%
of power and in the Nuba Mountains and Southern Blue Nile
where we shall have 45% of power. The SPLM shall also have
10% of power in all the remaining 15 States of the North.
With the consolidation of the SPLM in Southern Sudan and its
expansion and consolidation in the Nuba Mountains, Southern
Blue Nile and the other States of the North, the SPLM
clearly has the potential to become the majority party in
the coming national elections at all levels – local, state
and national. I therefore on the occasion of this 22nd
anniversary celebrations appeal to all Sudanese everywhere –
in the South, Nuba Mountains, Blue Nile, Eastern Sudan,
Northern Kordofan, Khartoum, Central Sudan and the far North
to join the SPLM and rally behind so that we complete the
project of New Sudan and build a Great Sudan.
(12) Finally, the CPA is also good for all others. The CPA
is not only good for the SPLM, Southern Sudan, Nuba
Mountains, Blue Nile and Abyei; it is also good for the NCP
and for all other political forces in the North and for all
of Sudan. For the NCP they become our partners for at least
six years, and for the other political forces in the North
the CPA achieves all the objectives they have struggled for
including Democracy and elections, Interim Government,
Interim Constitution and Human Rights. The CPA can also be
adapted and applied to bring peace in other parts of the
country such as Darfur and Eastern Sudan. The CPA represent
a true and genuine paradigm shift for the democratic
transformation of the Sudan, if implemented, and for the
renewal of Sudan to achieve prosperity and happiness for all
Sudanese in our lifetime and for all future generations to
come. As you can see in the twelve points that I have just
presented, the CPA contains all the objectives we have
struggled to achieve over the last 22 years. When you
combine (a) real power in the GOSS, (b) an independent SPLA,
(c) organic sources of revenue for the GOSS, and (d) a
separate banking system, then one can say that we truly have
an autonomous Southern Sudan. And as I said before the CPA
is also good for everybody else in the Sudan, for all the
political forces and for all the Sudanese people. The SPLM
and the NCP brought the CPA, but it now belongs to all the
Sudanese people and it is a win-win agreement for all. There
are no losers in the CPA as it gives everyone their rights.
In general the “One Country two systems model” shall be
reflected in all structures and relationships. The
connection between Khartoum and Juba shall only be nominal
at the top most macro levels such as the national
constitutional court, the office of the 1st Vice President,
the dual banking system, the JIUs and JDB, and so on. Some
people have argued that the CPA presents separatist
arrangements, but I disagree; the CPA is actually good for
the unity of the country, for unity can only be based on
freedom, equality and confidence. Only if, or rather when,
Southerners and the marginalized people of Sudan in general
are assured of their rights, of equality, of justice, can
they voluntarily choose to remain in a united and New Sudan,
not out of coercion but because they want to.
7. SPLM Program During the Interim Period
The CPA is clearly a good agreement. What are left are its
implementation and its translation into tangible benefits
for the people of southern Sudan, the two areas, Abyei and
the whole of Sudan. I have summarized the SPLM post war
programmes and priorities in the following six points. These
are programmes that will fundamentally change the lives of
the people of New Sudan. The peace dividend that they expect
as individuals and as communities and for which they have
fought for the last 50 years since August 1955 will be
provided by these programmes, and I ask all the people of
New Sudan to build consensus around these programmes and to
own them; these are: -
(1) The Wounds of War and Healing. I believe that our first
and foremost task and priority is to heal, to forgive, to
reconcile and to unite around the CPA and its implementation
so that we face the challenges of the Interim Period with a
unified purpose, will and cohesion. This is what we did
recently in the South-south dialogue, and I have called a
conference of all the counties involved in instability of
the last few months in Lakes, Warrap and Western Upper Nile.
The peace, reconciliation and stability must begin here
where we have our Interim SPLM administration.
(2) Governance Infrastructure. Our second priority is the
establishment of a good governance infrastructure and the
rule of law and order to ensure justice and stability all
over Southern Sudan. This governance must be inclusive of
all ethnic groups in all aspects of politics, power and the
economy, and must be completely transparent and fight
nepotism and corruption.
(3) Physical Infrastructure. Our third priority shall be
physical Infrastructure – roads, railways, river transport,
telecommunications and electric power generation, and we are
starting literally from scratch. Since creation, there has
never been a single tarmac road in Southern Sudan, an area
the size of Kenya and Uganda put together. We shall
concentrate our energies on the construction of thirteen key
roads, these are: (1) Juba- Nimule, (2)
Juba-Kapoeta-Lokichoggio, (3) Wau-Rumbek-Maridi-Yei-Kaya,
(4) Juba-Yei-Lasu, (5) Juba-Malakal-Renk, (6)
Wau-Tambura-Yambio-Maridi, (7) Rumbek-Yirol-Bor-Pochalla,
(8) Wau-Warrap-Abyei-Kadugli, (9) Melut-
Adar-Ulu-Kurmuk-Damazine, (10) Malakal-Nasir-Jekou, (11)
Wau-Aweil- Babanusa, (12) Wau-Raga-Nyala to Darfur and
Shambe-Yirol-Bedntiu- Pariang-Jaw-Kadugli. In addition to
the roads, two railway linkages are important: the
rehabilitation of the Wau-Aweil-Babanusa railway and a
railway connecting Juba to Mombasa, either through Uganda or
Kenya. We are also discussing with DR Congo linking of
Juba-Yei-Lasu with Kisangani by railway to have access to
the Atlantic Ocean and open up DR Congo markets to Southern
Sudan. Opening up of River Nile transport is also urgent.
Finally, construction of a major dam for hydroelectric
generation at Fulla rapids or Bedden Falls south of Juba is
critical to overall development of Southern Sudan. This
transport network will link Southern Sudan with Northern
Sudan and with the Greater Horn of Africa and the Great
Lakes Area, and create a major market of some 300 million
people. It is a win-win strategy for all stakeholders in the
Sudan, in the Region and the rest of the world. I ask the
people of New Sudan to be forward looking in having bigger
economic and political entities in the Region.
(4) Economic Development and Financial Infrastructure. On
the economic front our goal is clearly set; within the
context of the CPA, and in conformity with the millennium
development goals, both the Government of National Unity and
Government of Southern Sudan (GOSS) shall adopt poverty
eradication as the ultimate objective of socio-economic
development. To this end, of poverty eradication, the SPLM
shall adopt an economic development vision and program that
emphasizes economic growth through rural development and
transformation of traditional agriculture that is integrated
with agro-industries. We aim to transform the present
subsistence traditional agriculture in Southern Sudan and
other areas through technological innovations, and make
agriculture the engine of growth. The SPLM vision is
encapsulated in two slogans to “use the oil revenues to fuel
agriculture” and to “take towns to people in the countryside
rather than people to towns” and more than 90% of the
population of New Sudan live in rural areas. For any
meaningful development to take place we must have a
functioning a viable market including financial institutions
of different times and encourage a vibrant market economy.
(5) Provision of Social or public Services. Our fifth
priority is the provision of basic social services –
education, health, sanitation and clean water, etc to our
people, and the facilitation of the return, reintegration
and rehabilitation of some three million IDPs and refuges
that are expected to return to their homes following the
CPA. It is estimated that more than one million people have
returned to their homes over the last six months, and the
internationally community has done nothing in this grave
situation. I appeal to the UN and the international
community to urgently come to the assistance of the people
of Southern Sudan, the Two Areas and Abyei.
(6) Youth, Women and the Diaspora. Finally, I want to
briefly mention and appeal to three important constituencies
of our people; these are the youth, women and the Diaspora.
We need the Diaspora to return and contribute to the
building of the nation or if they cannot return to assist
where they are. Our children have been deprived of the
vitality of youth! From the day of birth our children have
seen no peace, and we must concentrate on the development of
youth in the next phase. Women, the “marginalized of the
marginalized” must be given special attention in development
of skills and income generating activities. Women will be
effectively empowered through girl child education,
pro-women government policies and above all income
generating opportunities. Only when women are able to bring
home a respectable income alongside their husbands will they
become fully empowered and respected. Civil Society groups
will also need to be empowered to participate effectively in
all these initiatives and activities.
(7) Emphasis on human resource development. In general, the
SPLM shall give priority to human resource development as
the most effective strategy for poverty eradication and
economic development. The SPLM has already announced its
policy of free universal Primary School education so that by
2015 all girls and boys of school going age do go to school,
and by that time we should also have free Secondary School
education. Other initiatives shall also be introduced for
those beyond Primary School age, including adult and
functional education and vocational training to develop
skills. CONCLUSION: I want in closing to assure you all once
more that there shall be enough room for all Southern
Sudanese who wish to participate, and by way this assurance
I often have quoted the Gospel of John 14 V 1-2. “Do not be
worried and upset” Jesus told them. “Believe in God and
believe also in me. There are many rooms in my Father’s
house, and I am going to prepare a place for you. I would
not tell you this if it were not true”. So, I say to all
Southerners that there will be many rooms in the GOSS and
GONU, and all are welcome. In the legislature for example we
shall have 135 members in the Central Parliament, 170 in the
Southern parliament, and about 400 in the Parliaments of the
ten Southern States; that alone is more than 700
legislators. In the Executive Southerners will have 10 full
Ministers and at least 10 State Ministers in the GONU and
about 20 Ministers in the GOSS and some 40 Ministers in the
State Governments; these are more than 70 Ministers. Then
you have the judiciary and civil service. And with the
massive development we shall launch the private sector will
be very lucrative and full of jobs. As you can see there
will be enough room for every one; our problem will actually
be lack of manpower. I want to conclude by assuring you that
the SPLM will continue to be steadfast, that the SPLM will
continue to be a movement of the people and for the people;
the SPLM shall not betray your cause and trust as we have
not betrayed you over the last 22 years of struggle. The
SPLM shall continue its vision and ideals that it has
sacrificed for over the last 21 years and for which we have
shed tears and blood. Again, on the occasion of this special
22nd anniversary celebration, I once more congratulate you
for the CPA and salute our martyrs to whom this day belongs.
I greet and congratulate all the people of Sudan wherever
you may be this anniversary day. I assure you all that the
Movement will be faithful and loyal to the objectives of the
struggle. The SPLM/SPLA will never betray the cause of our
people, and our track record is known to all. I wish you
well as we begin the 23rd Year of our struggle. God bless
you all. SPLM Oye! SPLA Oye! New Sudan Oye! Victory to the
SPLM/SPLA and to the people of New Sudan! |