Open letter to the Speaker of National Parliament BY: Michael Thon, SOUTH SUDAN
AUG. 22/2011, SSN; Dear Right honorable Speaker sir, I salute you in the name of Republic of South Sudan. I also congratulate you for being the first Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, a historic feat for our nascent nation. However, I hope you are aware that you are not presidential appointee. Mr. Speaker James Wani Igga I am still baffled about what you have been up to of late. The last time you made headlines was when you were sucked into a row between the Khartoum group and Juba lawmakers on who your deputy will be. By then the competition was between Awet Akut and Atem Garang. As the new state held its bated breath awaiting the decision of who would be your deputy in the August Assembly you then adjourned the House without considering the motion. We expected competition at the political pulpit but later the matter was buried when Atem Garang was appointed as the government chief whip. As the young nation goes through a crisis, Mr. Speaker, you and the lawmakers that live lavishly kept silent over bread and butter issues that affect the common man. Today there is a fuel crisis in Juba. Khartoum has blocked goods to the South. How then can the National Assembly keep silent? Does this not make the role of the Speaker and lawmakers superfluous? East African countries such as Kenya and Uganda have been hit by the same problem. However their respective parliaments have quickly converged to address the issues through ministerial statements and particularly in Uganda the President has used mass media to calm the nerves of the citizens. On a pragmatic front, Kenya has since then reduced taxes on petroleum while the Ugandan Opposition continues to put the government on the spot through the walk-to-work demonstrations, protesting against the high fuel prices. Unfortunately for us here it will be business as usual as prices skyrocket to new levels leaving the common man feeling the knock-on effects. Anyway we have just come from the bush where we are used to trekking thousands of miles and we feel that the State is doing us a favor with the few paved roads they have constructed in Juba. Prices of commodities have shot through the roof. Local foods that used to cost 4 SSP now cost about 8 SSP. The common man is not protected; an average south Sudanese lives on 50 pounds a day. But the salaries continue to be meager. We spent decades fighting to liberate our citizens with the barrel of a gun. Why then can’t we help our poor citizens? Mr. Speaker, what is the National Assembly doing to address these pertinent issues? In the markets, traders say they charge high prices because of the exorbitant taxes. Where are the taxes that they pay at the border? Do they reach the national treasury? I believe most of the taxes end in individuals’ pockets. Why can’t Parliament investigate those who steal from the national coffers? Northern Bhar el-ghazel, is in the throes of famine but Parliament appears to be unaware of the scale of the crisis. Many are staring death through starvation. But once again the council of ministers will discuss the famine one of these Fridays, appear sympathetic to those starving and unanimously approve a relief Bill. But the minister concerned will realize that though people are suffering, there is an opportunity to make money. He/she will award the dura contracts to a relative who runs a shadowy briefcase company. No bidding procedure will take place and it will be a fait accompli. What unfolds next is the same pattern of scandal. The briefcase company will collude perhaps with the Governor of the State, sign papers purportedly showing the relief was delivered. How callous can we be to our own citizens that will starve to death because an unscrupulous official wants to steal and drink a bottle of Johnny Walker whisky at a plush hotel in Juba? Why should our politicians buy Hummers, fuel-guzzling Land Cruisers, build plush homes across East Africa and live opulent lifestyles at the expense of poor citizens? Mr. Speaker, this must stop. There will be public uproar, Parliament will appear to be willing to investigate as usual but after the matter is probed, the report shall never see the light of day ---it will instead be swept under the carpet. Our passports are not up to international standards and yet it is the most expensive passport in the world. Mr. Speaker why should an ordinary passport cost an astronomical 300 pounds, which is the salary of the policeman, primary school teacher and a senior Six school leaver? How many of our citizens can afford to buy the passport at that amount Mr. Speaker? The public expects you to summon the minister to clarify why passports are not up to standard. What was the procedure to give the contract and why does it cost 300 pounds? But when was the last time parliament summoned any minister? The president has made a pledge to send troops to Somalia to maintain peace, when he was at the ceremony at Addis Ababa. I hope parliament has no say on that too. As a young nation with Herculean challenges in future, our parliament should be one of the busiest in the world. The National Assembly should be working 18 hours of 24 hours each day because there is a lot of legislative work to do. The Land Bill and Media should quickly be passed into law. But instead of playing their legislative roles, the lawmakers have resorted to taking a long recess and absenteeism as common practice. Mr. Speaker the country needs a working Parliament at this critical time. Michael Thon is a journalist, Can be reached @ [email protected] -- 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.
