Cabinet Formation: Kiir Should Not Dump His Comrades in Arms
Mr. Amum for example has become the latest victim of theories because
some people around you have ganged up to soil him.
20 July 2011

By Isaiah Abraham

(Edited and published by Gurtong Trust)-Independence celebrations have
come and gone but politics remains. Our people have had their last
laugh on July 9 after centuries in the wilderness, though that Day in
Juba (July 9) was nearly a disaster (poorly organized), as far as
protocol and security were concerned. That was just by the way. We had
our freedom celebrated and everything was as conclusive as expected.

I must take this opportunity on the onset to salute President Omar
Ahmed Al Basher for keeping his word. Men behave like that!

The South has made it, and our people are still celebrating their
life-long victory even to date. It was a dream sought for ages,
something someone from the outside thought it was a joke, and won’t be
realized. Thanks God and the great people of South Sudan whose
resilience never died in the storms of hardship, prosecutions,
loneliness, hunger, sword or disease. I’m proud to be identified with
these people (South Sudanese), they never surrendered their
inalienable right to live in dignity! What a people!

Now that the dust of that achievement has settled, our people are back
into internal politics. Politicians have already gone ahead jostling
for positions in the new government. Several of them are spending time
calling one another for ‘news’. Some of them are sending showers of
congratulatory messages through newspapers and local radios to the
President and even denying themselves the same credit. The president
has become a ‘girl’ everyone would love to have attention. Others have
started to talk or greet the very people close to power in Dinka
language as if the South belongs to these people.

Generally, each state has floated to the president a list of four to
five candidates for ministerial posts in the next government. The
environment in Juba is ‘polluted’ by rumours or scare mongers whose
earlier messages run like this: ‘Do you know what: Mr./Ms X has been
appointed and Mr./Ms Y is axed’. Swindlers are making a kill as they
drink or eat from someone else pockets. I have seen big men these days
going down, but then they were too expensive to say hi to people they
know.

The big man syndrome moreover has resurface, a fertile ground for
sycophancy. It is of no use to feign loyalty just to buy a favours for
a ministerial position. The struggle for freedom is over, anywhere in
the South anyone can food for his/her children, government isn’t the
only source of everything.

The point we are making therefore to the head of state, Cde Salva, is
simple: please never make representation of our society in your
government on the expense of men and women who fought our freedom with
their sweats and blood.

Fortunately, people who happened to be in the bush aren’t regular
names (black listed in corruption) with the Anti-corruption Unit. In
your government generally, there are veritable sharks, leaders that
are corrupt to their teeth, that must be phased out and you know them
and the public know them too.

Alarmingly though there are people around the President who would want
some key SPLM members hang. They are sharp in making up deadly stories
to dent reputation of the party hawks for their personal gains. Our
leader (Kiir and Machar) must run away from these busy bodies and keep
close to these ‘devils’ they know best.

The party called SPLM is crippled by these people (turn coats) because
they always believe that if someone outside the box does an activity
A, it is naturally going to fail, but if the same activity is done by
one of their own it succeeds. We must learn to develop confidence and
trust among ourselves and never segregate South Sudanese for no reason
at all.

Mr. Amum for example has become the latest victim of theories because
some people around you have ganged up to soil him. They have matured
plans to humiliate him during the upcoming government formation.

Mr. Amum is an important figure in any government and should not be
left out again- remember when the government of Southern Sudan (GOSS)
was formed in 2005. He is probably a very frustrated man who is
seemingly abandoned by even friends and his boss.  I pray that the
president persuade him to remain in the executive or the Secretary
General post. Oh may Comrade Pagan be retained O God of Southerners!!!

Gier is another as well as Deng Athorbei, Awut, Ann, and many more.
These men and women have done so much in their respective ministries
and too early to dump them. Recycling could be ok, not dropping.

Mr. President, change and overhaul are done gradually and not through
a rush or for the sake of change or overhaul. You need to make a wise
decision here sir. Reconcile all Southerners but also charity must
begin in your own house first. The likes of Pagan Amum have done so
much for the people of the South since the times of their youths at
the University of Khartoum and then during Anyanya II integration. No
one could wish it away overnight because of alleges of malpractices at
the SPLM Secretariat. The said revelation was just a character
assassination and can’t be substantiated with facts.

How that huge money could be wired to an individual account without
the knowledge of the system. We had a system even during bush live.
Nothing of the sort had happened at that time; many of you who are
reading here were there during bush administration.  The claimer had
lied and should apologized! President should have probed and quell it
earlier enough!

Figure out Mr. President the situation in 2015: the like of Mr. Amum
joining an opposition and you are left with today’s so-called
loyalists, people who know nothing about how did people arrive here,
what do you think will happen to this party? Your party will
disintegrate and end up becoming a tribal party for one ethnic group.
You must be careful! President Museveni of Uganda has kept that
practice of keeping most of his colleagues from day one in 1981 to
date, differences notwithstanding.

The challenge then and still today after independence is whether we
can sustain the achievement we have hereto achieved namely the unity
of our people and the party that brought freedom to the people. The
answer lies in the team you want to recruit to represent South Sudan
in next government for four years. The current shape of your cabinet
is good, don’t temper much, but there are too many women in each
ministries something that must be corrected; women after all spend
most of their times in salons and make up places. Most of the time,
they are too obsessive, nosy and scoffers. More importantly, empower
and work closely with Dr. Machar!  God bless South Sudan!

Isaiah Abraham lives in Juba; Isaiah

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