A More Enlightened Cabinet Structure BY: Joana Adams, JUBA, SOUTH SUDAN
AUG. 24/2011, SSN; Delaying announcement of ministers for the positions that have been decreed is just another control mechanism used by dictators to instil fear and anxiety on those they seek to control. When the announcement is finally made people will just feel relieved and no one will have any energy left to critically evaluate the appointments. Besides those removed will now be too engrossed in nursing their wounds. Secondly, the structuring of the ministries does not reflect any critical analysis. What strikes one is the creation of big sounding ministries. Ministries should be created to reflect their functions and not just big sounding names. Obsession with big names is a sign of cognitive retardation. It means that one has not moved from the basic mental development stage of naming, characteristic of toddlers, to concept development which is a prerequisite for adult type of reasoning. But it also reflects lack of consultation and involvement of ministers and others in the process of restructuring. The Presidential decree states: The following National Ministries shall be established in the Republic of South Sudan; and they are: 1. Ministry of Cabinet Affairs 2. Ministry of Defence and Veteran Affairs 3. Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation 4. Minister, Office of the President 5. Minister for National Security, Office of the President 6. Ministry of Justice 7. Ministry of Interior 8. Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs 9. Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning 10. Ministry of Labour, Public Service and Human Resource Development 11. Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment 12. Ministry of Information and Broadcasting 13. Ministry of Health 14. Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry 15. Ministry of Roads and Bridges 16. Ministry of Transport 17. Ministry of General Education and Instruction 18. Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology 19. Ministry of Environment 20. Ministry of Housing and Physical Planning 21. Ministry of Telecommunication and Postal Services 22. Ministry of Petroleum and Mining 23. Ministry of Electricity and Dams 24. Ministry of Gender, Child and Social Welfare 25. Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management 26. Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation 27. Ministry of Wildlife Conservation and Tourism 28. Ministry of Animal Resources and Fisheries 29. Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports Analysis Even within the present caretaker cabinet there are people who should know that: Cabinet Affairs could be merged with Office of the President; National Security could be a department within the Presidency or Interior or Defence. Foreign Affairs is inclusive of International Cooperation. Road and bridges could come under Transport and Information should have been merged with Culture because broadcasting is implicit in information. Youth issues can be dealt with competently under the ministry of Education or Welfare. Environment should have been merged with Housing or Wildlife or even Agriculture or Health depending on the emphasis of what is expected out of this ministry. The two Education ministries, could be at this stage comfortably merged. Instruction which means teaching is not a separate function of education, it is implicit in education at both general and higher levels of learning. A part of youth issues falls within Education including sports, while remedial youth issues could be dealt with within the department of Welfare. To include sports within the ministry of youth also suggests that adults do not need to participate in sports activities. Culture in the broader sense does not just mean cultural traditional practices but general ways of life which include education, training, building houses, etc. which are concerns for all citizens not just for the youth hence it should be integrated with Information as mentioned above. Labour means the same as Public Service and Human Resource development is inclusive within the ministry so the whole ministry could adopt the name Labour or Public Service. Naming the ministry of Higher Education as Higher Education, Science and Technology tends to suggest that science and technology are not taught in general education. If the two ministries have to be separate then they should simply be called the Ministry of General Education and the Ministry of Higher Education, all these grand sounding nouns do not add value to the ministries, their functions remain the same. Investment is inclusive in Industry it is what you invest or put into the various industries. South Sudan has a lot of engineers if the President bothered to consult them they would have advised that Petroleum, mining, electricity and dams should be inclusive under the ministry of Energy and Mining. Veteran Affairs is social affairs of veterans and should be moved to welfare or remain as a Commission. Humanitarian Affairs should become a Commission. Not all the ministers have to be recycled as ministers, some can be moved to foreign affairs as Ambassadors. Therefore a more enlightened structure of the ministries should have been as follows: 1. Cabinet Affairs 2. Defence 3. Foreign Affairs 4. Ministry of Justice 5. Ministry of Interior 6. Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning 7. Ministry of Public Service 8. Ministry of Commerce and Industry 9. Ministry of Information and Culture 10. Ministry of Health 11. Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry 12. Ministry of Transport and Communications 13. Ministry of Housing and Environment 14. Ministry of Telecommunications 15. Ministry of General Education 16. Ministry of Higher Education 17. Ministry of Wildlife and Tourism 18. Ministry of Gender and Social Welfare 19. Ministry of Animal Resources and Fisheries Does the President realise that the word lean means thin or slim? If my arithmetic is correct, reduction from 31 ministries to 29 hardly means lean. Or it is the same theory of deception which is at play? Ms. Joana Adams, South Sudan, Juba 23rd August 2011 COMMENTS, PLEASE CLICK HERE Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author(s) and do not represent those of the website. -- 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.
