South Sudan: Conflict, Development and Governance BY: Miyar De’Nyok, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
MAR. 04/2011, SSN; South Sudan has been at war for the last 22 years, which was ceased by the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA). CPA gave South Sudanese an optimal opportunity to opt for secession –an inclusive deliberation that was unanimously endorsed on January 9th 2011 by South Sudanese collective vote. In July, we will have the world newest nation in Africa. However, the independence of South Sudan from the north is not the end of everything that has been obstacles to future of the Southern citizens. Rather than being the beginning of honest conversations, dialogue and discussion among the South Sudanese on how we should heal the wounds of the generational wars, malpractice of justice, resuscitation of good governance for all, and sustainable peace in our regions. South Sudanese leaders need to focus their energies, strategies and governance on how to end conflict among South Sudanese, enhance development for all the impoverish regions, and establish good governance. These three pillars such as cessation of conflict, enhancement of development and establishment of good governance will definitely lead to ecological resilience, socio-economic development, political stability and sustainable peace in the South Sudan regions but not limited to them. Why should conflict resolution among Southerners, development and governance be the priorities in the next Republic of South Sudan (ROSS) Government’s lists to do? These issues have been the cause of armed conflict with the northern successive government. Therefore, it is very imperative for the Government of South Sudan (GOSS) to resolve all these issues all at cost; otherwise the instability will continue to crop up all the times from the dissatisfied groups. Conflict As conflict can be defined as the existence of violence or chaos in the system that is governing the state; thus, conflict has not yet banished since the CPA was signed. Southerners are still dying day and night due to insecurities in the regions; in addition to the existing conflict among interest groups who want the South Sudan to continue in instability. Hence, this instability has obliged me to write this article. Conflict resolution should be an ultimate goal to end all the issues affecting our respective communities and states or regions. For instance, accepting responsibility is one of the ways to resolve issues at hands. When we accept responsibility for the wrongdoing we have done, the acceptance is always the healing for all that had happened and the offended begin to hail us and carry the pride. We should learn to honestly accept responsibility for any cause that results in pains. If South Sudanese citizens cannot accept to live side by side, initiate dialogue or honest conversation, be educated on conflict resolutions and trust building, the conflicting issues affecting us as citizens of the South will never fade away. We need to apologize and acknowledge publically on the mistakes individuals have done. Apologies and acknowledgements of the wrongdoing are parcel parts of the healing process, trusted reconciliation and concessionary trust building, mutual acceptance and above responsible relational trust among our societies and governance systems. Therefore, we can find resolutions that lead to productive peace and sustainable stability in the regions if our leaders accept responsibility for the wrongdoing and forge a way forward with the public. I would like to challenge all readers and southerners with this chart on how I think we should begin talking about peaceful South Sudan: Dialogue 1 Trust-building 2 Citizens-Leaders Nationalism 5 Reconciliation 3 Togetherness 4 Our citizens and leaders need to break the silence and begin to participate in the reconstruction of the dream for peaceful South Sudan. These reclaiming dreams have been shadowed by conflict. I think sustainable and resilient governance cannot be accomplished in the absence of dialogue, trust building, reconciliation, togetherness and nationalism or patriotism as the overarching ways to end conflict in our nation. Southerners have now departed from the situational and suppressive treatments they have been persevering since 1950s. Therefore, every Southerner should ask himself/herself this question: do we want to continue in divided South Sudan? Development While instability is continuing to obstruct government plans, private sector thriving and public safety, achieving development will just be harder to pace to the needy regions of our respective communities and states. Conflict is an obstacle to development. We should not be oblivious that peace and development do not compliment or act as complementary to each other. Therefore, development is not inevitable without peace. We need peace before development. Furthermore, lack of resources can also transpire conflict especially when resources are limited to specific areas while leaving the other areas in need. Those, who do not have resources, will always be dissatisfied with the centre. They will think that they are marginalized and denied the opportunities to have decent living and equitable sharing in the nation resources. If GOSS can create resources for all people specifically youths who are not in education and do not have means of income, the provided resources will create harmony. And these young people will always be preoccupied with their own duties while trusting the governing systems. All walk of lives need to be engaged on some productive means of income, otherwise the cycle of conflict will continuously remain unresolved. Those, who are idle see the system as failed and they have no better resentment other than joining the gangs. They too become susceptible to certain interest groups who want to disassemble South Sudan from the stage it is now in, to more extreme instability. Hence, development is a catalytic key to political stability and sustainable peace in South Sudan. Government need to step up and encourage social entrepreneurs, private investors, and enhance reconstruction on social, educational and economic levels, and improve health services but not limited to. These services will create job opportunities in that Southerners will feel they are enjoying their reclaiming dream for better future; by doing so, peace and political stability will be found, and a foundational functionality in the governance system will be enhanced. Governance Governance is the reliable system that collectively embraced all people and acculturated sense of belonging to the same systems. Governance is also the centrality of future development, peacefulness, constitutional rights and sense of nationalism. The GOSS has been struggling in finding resolutions for insecurities and public safety since 2005. There are a lot of challenges facing the citizens now. These challenges cannot be streamlined without government stepping up and accepting responsibility for all that is happening in the states. At this time GOSS is lacking accountability to public in terms of protecting civilians, providing resources to citizens, eliminating corruption, and finding dialogue among Southerners. In order to achieve resilient governance, GOSS need to be accountable to people because its officials are the people’s leaders. When the public is not centered in the debate for governing, issues of conflict of interests always intend to dominate the legislature agenda and the constitutionality for providing goods and services to the public become less considerable in the decision making processes. Therefore, the legislators tend to serve their interests other than the public interests. My overall conclusions are that conflict, development and governance are complementary assets to peaceful South Sudan. Therefore, leaders and citizens need to work on dialogue, trustbuilding, togetherness and nationalism or patriotism as the only ways forward to South Sudan viability and stability. Our leaders must accept responsibility for wrongdoing and apology and acknowledge on the pains others are going through. Peace is a responsibility not just an ingredient for governance. Miyar De’Nyok, you can reach him at [email protected] We should have a say in our future deliberation -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "JFD info" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/jfdinfo?hl=en.
