OPINION/EDITORIAL Regime Change Imperative to avert a failed South Sudan State
QUOTE: "What happens if Mr. Kiir’s government performs badly is another matter. South Sudan would not be the first African state to fail, but it may do so more spectacularly than most. Oil, tribalism, corruption, ubiquitous arms and many newly retired guerrillas are a combustible mix.” From the Economist; Feb.3, 2011. President Kiir’s unapologetic volte-face on his previous decree excluding all other southern political parties and groups from the so-called Constitutional Review Committee is one clear proof of his ubiquitous autocratic and failed style of leadership. Clearly, Kiir’s decree of January 11, 2011 appointing the Constitutional Review Committee under Minister John Luk is a blatant violation of the Agreement reached by the All South-South Political Parties last October , which had unanimously recommended formation of an all inclusive Constitutional Review Commission. Furthermore, it'd be recalled that last year our morbidly amnesic and manipulative leader had constituted a Task Force chaired by his vice president, Machar, to institute, among others assignments, the review of the current constitution. Apparently, there's a deliberate breakdown or dissonance in Kiir’s style of leadership which will potentially have adverse implications and ramifications on proper good governance and democratic institutionalization in the emerging independent South Sudan. Even though Kiir has reportedly now reversed his dictatorial and ill-advised decree to include other political parties and groups, it still falls far short of what the All South-South Political Parties had recommended. Advisedly, before jumping into President Kiir’s seductive political cooking pot, the leaders of the other Southern political parties must demand for the engagement of a non-partisan, neutral legal expert as Chairperson of the Constitutional Review Commission, not Committee. This Chairperson doesn’t necessarily have to be a South Sudanese, and also, the process of ‘reviewing’ our new Constitution should be open, to include not only political parties leaders but the entire cross-section of the population including the Diaspora. Irrefutably, the last six years of the combined Kiir-Machar administration in Juba after the 2005 CPA can only be described as a failed rule which unconscionably fell short of delivering much of the anticipated peace dividends. This came about in spite of enormous injection of nearly ten billion US dollars from our share of the oil and also from the multitudinous governmental and non-governmental agencies supposedly also helping the people of South Sudan. Frankly, for the better good of our new emerging South Sudan nation, the people of South Sudan deservedly need a total and surgical overhaul of the government in Juba and across the ten states if we don’t want to regret future calamities. The Kiir-Machar administration has duplicitously overseen and exacerbated massive corruption in South Sudan that has now completely pervaded all aspects of the society; it'll only be too difficult to eradicate this scourge if the same regime persevered in power. The latest apocalyptic words of the President of the Bank of South Sudan, Mr. Elijah Malok, is ample attestation that anything short of complete overhaul of the style of governance in our new nation, South Sudan will just continue to torpedo perilously as a ‘collapsing nation.’ What’s cynical, however, about Mr. Elijah Malok predicament is that despite the preponderance of prosecutable evidence, neither Mr. Malok, nor the utterly useless Anti-Corruption Commission nor the Kiir-Machar administration, are willing to do anything because the villains are mostly from their own tribes and regions. Our political leaders who’ll be participating in the Constitutional Commission must seriously also review the management of the finite oil reserves and all the revenues because, according to experts, the oil in South Sudan will start diminishing after the next ten years. Therefore, in anticipation of our increased oil revenues that the South Sudan will now be getting, it’s imperative that a new South Sudan Oil Commission be formed and be headed by a competent CEO , preferably, a foreigner, not again a Kiir surrogate from Warrap or Unity States, if South Sudan seriously wants to see real development in the new country. As a new nation, we’re unfortunately inheriting a dysfunctional political system devised by our former jellaba foes with numerous inherent vestiges of colonial native rule, as such, it necessitates serious restructuring of the system of State governors and other facets of the civil service. Seriously, demobilization of the massively enlisted SPLA national army of the new state of South Sudan should be top priority because the size of this gargantuan army along with the bloated public service, won't be financially sustainable. Finally, since we’re providentially blessed to be midwifed during our political parturition into a new country by the great democratic nations, the Southern political leaders on behalf of the people of South Sudan must vibrantly urge the USA and the others to engage and ensure that our leaders in South Sudan follow the norms of good governance. Quoting from Mr. Johnnie Carson, President Obama’s special envoy to Africa, “The U.S. wants to see the South Sudan State to be a successful state and not a failed or flawed state.’ Surely, if a regime change doesn't occur, we won’t be the first or last country to be a failed state! The onus now on the Southern political leaders when they start to engage in the charting of the new political dispensation of our new nation is to boldly and fearlessly seek some facelift of the regime and the leadership in Juba. SSN Editor Comment...Click Here -- 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.
