Review of the RoSS Ministerial Appointments BY: Ms. Joana Adams, JUBA, South Sudan
SEPT. 3/2011, SSN; The announcement on Friday 26th August 2011, of the first ever Federal Cabinet for the newly independent state of South Sudan was well overdue. When it finally came as expected, there were few surprises. First and foremost there are too many recycled faces of people who failed the general elections, in April 2010. This is a clear signal that we cannot expect to see genuine changes in the near future. Secondly, is it a lean Cabinet and are the appointments based on qualifications and strength? And lastly is it a fair cabinet in terms of regional and gender representations? DYSFUNCTIONAL GOVERNMENT: Many people have already commented and given valuable statistical breakdown of composition of the cabinet, which is a demonstration of how strongly people feel about matters that directly concern them. Now that the Imperial President has had his say, it is the duty of the rest of us to analyse, agree or disagree with him. Therefore I hope I will not be making needless repetitions, and if I do, I beg to be pardoned. I would like to judge the President on his own words that: he “would form a lean cabinet based on strength and qualifications”. The question is, has he formed a lean government? Definitely NOT! On the contrary the President has persistently ignored the wishes of the Southern people to form a lean government- a government that would be development oriented and to deliver basic services to its poor people. This government is a government of constitutional post holders, by constitutional post holders for constitutional post holders, it will do nothing for the common people but will perpetuate the culture of laziness and dependency on the state by those it sought to accommodate. There are 29 ministerial positions and 27 deputy ministerial positions which form a total of 56 or 58 including the offices of President and that of his Deputy. Then there are at least 400 MPs from the two Houses of National Parliament, a further 100 or so Ministers and 50x10 members of Parliament from the ten States, plus 10 Governors and their Advisors, giving a total of well over 1000 constitutional post holders that will be on the government's pay roll. This will make RoSS a very large employer of constitutional post holders, by any standard. I am bound to agree with those who say this over bloated government will divert resources from development, and be dysfunctional. The resources which will be used to maintain these officials will be hugely astronomical. Just imagine how many new top of the range V8 land cruisers will be imported to quench the lust of our ministers and parliamentarians for luxury and comfort. And how many will have full-board accommodation for months and years in Juba’s expensive luxury hotels, at the expense of the public while receiving housing allowances, in addition to large budgets for travel and medical expenses abroad? Welcome to the Republic of Self Service. (RoSS) Appointments based on Strength and Qualifications Are the Ministerial appointments based on qualifications? Yes and No. A proper analysis would require disclosure of personal profiles of these ministers and that of their deputies. We hope these profiles will soon be published on the government's website to enable citizens to know the credentials of those leading their important national institutions. To take the example of Education, the two Ministers are in their right places. It was good to move the medical doctor from General Education to Health, albeit, he unfortunately displaced another competent doctor. A doctor might have gone through the educational ladder to gain his or her qualification/s, but that doesn’t make him or her an educator. Now perhaps we can begin to see this very important ministry rising up to the challenges of designing relevant and appropriate educational curricula for all levels of the educational ladder to give our children the quality education they deserve. Surprises However the big surprise is the removal of the former minister of Agriculture and Forestry who is more qualified for the job than the person replacing her who is apparently a Vet and not an Agriculturalist. Moreover, unlike other's Dr. Ann Itto has not been given sufficient time to prove her competence as the Minister of Agriculture. She was only used as a caretaker after the untimely death of the late Minister Dr. Samson Kwajje who passed away in May 2010. Justice would have demanded that this time around Dr. Ann Itto be appointed in her own right. Dr. Ann is not only an experienced academic who is passionate about agriculture, but is quite rightly an SPLM veteran. During the elections, as the Deputy Secretary General of the SPLM, Itto travelled the length and breadth of South Sudan risking her life in unsafe aircrafts and unsafe roads to campaign for the SPLM and Salva Kiir Mayardit, which gave the party credibility it didn’t deserve. One would have expected her to be handsomely rewarded with the ministry to see if she could full fill her pledge of making South Sudan self sufficient in food production. Or is she a victim of the Garang boys' syndrome. But that wouldn’t explain Ann’s removal because Deng Alor, Nhial Deng, and Oyai Deng are all Garang loyalists but have retained ministerial positions. Have I missed something? I have failed to locate the name of our favourite young and energetic former minister of Roads and Transport - Mr. Anthony Lino Makana. First, they split his ministry into two, then they remove him. Does he know something we don't? In all honesty, if there were Ministers who worked hard during the CPA Interim period, Lino Makana was one of them. First of all he was not only elected unopposed in April 2010, but he did what 2 previous Ministers: David Deng Athorbei and Mrs Rebecca Garang de Mabior could not do. He fixed the miserable tacky roads in Juba making it presentable for the Independence celebrations in July 2011. In addition he started work on other main inter- city/town roads. I hope he has not been despicably bartered for Gen. Alison Magaya. The President had also said that appointments would be based on “strength” though he did not define what he meant by “strength” in this context. Of course one wouldn’t imagine that he meant “physical strength”, because physical characteristics are hereditary characteristics which are not valid selection criteria, as they have no bearings on what individuals can/have achieved out of their own efforts. Looking at the appointments one can deduce however that by “strength” the President meant coming from a “major tribe” and “strength” is therefore a “perceived political strength” based on numerical strength of the tribe or person in question. In other words, you are “strong” if you come from a “major tribe” and “weak” if you don’t. The support of your tribe or sub-tribe must also be seen as crucial for electoral success of the President. When faced with the choice between qualifications and strength, the President seemed to have gone for strength, rather than qualifications. That would explain why in Equatoria, Central Equatoria made away with 5 ministerial positions, when Eastern Equatoria got only two, because according to this logic, the Bari speakers and the Zande are numerically strong. There is a danger that such politics of divide and rule will exacerbate conflict and disharmony. Regional Balance Equitable distribution of power and wealth is important for peace and stability of the new nation and therefore some of us will continue to advocate for inclusion of power sharing modalities in the first permanent Constitution of South Sudan. It is important that the President has tried to quantitatively and qualitatively balance allocation of ministerial portfolios per the former regions of Equatoria, Upper Nile and Bahar el Ghazal. Yes for the first time Equatorians have been allocated 10 out of 29 ministerial positions which is 1/3rd of the available positions. This is fair and Equatorians deserve it because they constitute roughly I/3rd of the population of South Sudan. The share in the sovereignty, and economic ministries is equally important, it may not be sufficient but it is a step in the right direction and it is something we can work with, after all politics is a matter of give and to take. In the past Equatorians had given up too much, to the extent that it was beginning to affect the collective psyche and dignity of the people. The time for standing up and being counted has come and we will not relent until the unity of South Sudan is made truly attractive to all through equitable power and wealth sharing. We trust that this is not just a deceptive empty public relations exercise but the beginning of good governance in a diverse multi cultural and multi-ethnic society that will bring security, stability and prosperity to all. So it is time for those who have had an unfair advantage over the last 6 ½ years and have enjoyed powerful positions at the expense of Equatorians, to be happy for Equatorians as a sign of goodwill and brotherhood and not to condemn our boys as Salva Kiir's golden boys. We know that most of these ministers are not perfect and that there are a lot competent Equatorians out there who could have been appointed to these positions, but this is not important for now. What is important is that they must not misrepresent Equatorians. They have to be exemplary and work for the whole country. If they don't they will account for it. And we urge the rest to hold their ministers accountable as well. Personally I am very delighted that Security and Interior have not gone to Warrap, though it is still difficult to explain the exclusion of Unity State. This does not augur well for inclusiveness and national unity. The people of Unity State should not be punished just because of the quarrel between the President and his Vice Dr. Riek Machar. The President is not immortal and one day he will leave office. Is he suggesting that when he does, his people of Warrap should be mistreated? The President is a president for all and should have a big heart to embrace all his people. It wouldn’t have been impossible to find one or two positions, even if it meant taking them from Jonglei, Central Equatoria or Warrap to accommodate Unity State. Kosti Monibe When you look critically at the portfolios given to Equatorians, there is no doubt that Western Equatoria has taken the day, with the two powerful ministries of Interior and Finance. However, few people are impressed by the appointment of Kosti Monibe as Finance minister. There has been a lot of controversies over the management of the Ministry of Finance. Mr. Kosti should disclose his credentials. If he is not an economist then he is in the wrong place. The country needs competent economists not just bookkeepers, to chart the way for our economic progress. Therefore we expect a minister who will not just be managing the finances of the government but a Minister who has the professional insight and foresight for economic planning in a globalised and rapidly changing world. We want a minister who will have the guts to force government to make hard budgetary choices and balance public expenditure with wealth creation. We do not want RoSS to start borrowing money from all those broke western economies, to burden our future generations with debt. Every sensible housewife knows that she must feed her family within her means. Our expenditure must balance our revenues and we expect a clean balanced sheet with substantial reserves at the end of each financial year he is in office. Kosti Monibe should demonstrate that he is not just an errand boy by scrapping blatant financial irregularities that had nearly brought the government to its knees. He can do this by promoting transparency and accountability no matter what anyone else says. If Mr. Kosti does not have what it takes to turn the ministry around, he should get out sooner than later. He cannot accept to be used to protect criminals. Gen Alison Magaya Like Salva Kiir Mayardit, Gen.(Rtd) Alison Magaya was a former Anyanya officer. He is an educated, trained and disciplined soldier and has served in various ministerial positions in the North during the 21 years of civil war. All things being equal, he could have been the right person for the job. But Alison Magaya's appointment makes people feel uncomfortable precisely because he was too closely associated with Omer Beshir's regime and National Congress Party (NCP) in Khartoum. A lot of people have been hurt during the 50 long years of struggle and feelings are still raw, therefore it is an act of arrogance or sheer insensitivity to push this unpalatable appointment down our throats. To be honest, an advisorial position would have done for this prodigal son. But his job is unenviable because of the filth that his predecessors have planted in that ministry which he will now have to eliminate or contend with. He will have to manage all those undisciplined SPLA commanders posing as directors, director generals, undersecretary, and needless advisors, recruited by the 2 former Dinka Ministers, Paul Mayom and Guier Chuang Along. In addition he has a very ruthless deputy minister - a close confidant of the President who allegedly masterminded the final version of the Cabinet list. Hopefully Gen (Rtd) Magaya will bring real law and order onto our streets and that needless terrorising of citizens sanctioned by commanders will now cease. We are saying this knowing well that Alison Magaya can only succeed if the President wants him to. With a reputedly ruthless deputy who will be lurking around at all times, he will have to watch his back. Gen. Alison has a cool demeanour which is a rare quality in South Sudan, which gives a calming effect in an overtly aggressive environment. But it would be too premature to predict what lies behind that “golden face”. As an old dog, he must have a few tricks up his sleeves to neutralise any opponent. If he fails to deliver on his own accord, the public will know and hold him accountable. Gender Equity After the general elections in 2010, the President realising the significance of the “women power” which swept him to power, promised that women will continue to have the 25% quota of power sharing in government at all levels, sometimes the quota is interchangeably raised to 30%. This commitment has been enshrined in the Transitional Constitution of the Republic of South Sudan. Again those of us who have been advocating for equitable power and wealth sharing for women are delighted that this promise has been honoured. But how accurate is it? In the main cabinet there are actually 5 female ministers out of 29 which is 17% and not 25% a shortfall of 8%. However, this has been balanced by appointment of 10 female deputy ministers which is 37% far exceeding the 25% or 30% benchmark. But if the two are merged, 15 out of 56 or 58 gives us a respectable 25.8% or 26.7% representation. What this doesn't reveal is that these are almost exclusively SPLM members. In terms of regionalism, Equatoria has got the lion’s share. Although it can be argued that this is due to the fact that on the whole Equatorian women of the generation in question are more educated than their counterparts in the other two regions, there seems to be a hidden bias in favour of Equatorian women compared to comparable men, which is indicative of marginalisation of Equatorian men. All societies need men. Women can never be substituted for men without grave consequences whether in the context of families, communities or in high public offices. Therefore in Equatoria while we celebrate the advancement of women, we still want to have men who are men, to avoid creating generations of men who are dis-empowered which will create a new social malaise. Women all over the world have worked hard over the past century to attain political, socio-economic, educational and human rights. In South Sudan we need to do more and we are on the right track. Those who are ministers today are role models for the younger generation of women and girls. Therefore you have responsibilities not to misrepresent your gender by overusing your “erotic capitals”, but should endeavour to be remembered for hard work and fairness. This is your opportunity to push for pro-poor and pro-development policies. If all the women ministers and 'parliamentarians in all levels of government across the country work together, they have the power to usher South Sudan into a new dawn. These women should demonstrate that they are truly different from their male colleagues by rejecting corrupt practices. One of the things which they could embark on is the legislation of laws that would outlaw polygamy. It should be illegal for ministers to marry additional wives while holding ministerial positions, and if they do, they should loose the position. This will ensure that men don’t aspire for powerful constitutional positions just to marry under aged women who’re young enough to be their granddaughters. This will also eliminate the claim that some men abuse public funds to feed multiple wives, and countless children or to provide for employment or financial opportunities for countless in-laws. I know this will be unpopular with some men, but let us face it - polygamy is bad for families and it is bad for society. If some men want to flaunt their stolen wealth, in today's modern economy, they don’t have to marry multiple wives but can invest in ways that would bring many financial returns. Bill Gates is the richest man on earth today, but he is not using his wealth to marry multiple wives or to leave behind a string of illegitimate children. Critical Issues: Although it is important to examine the personalities behind these portfolios and their competence and ability to deliver, we should not lose sight of the motives behind these appointments. There are internal and external reasons as to why the President has come up with this list. Internally, he and his “kitchen cabinet” have crafted this government to: a) firmly keep control of power in Warrap State; b) secure the next election victory for the President and his party 3 ½ year's time; c) protect against the possibility of prosecution of the President and his cronies while in office. They believe that this cabinet will secure the support of Equatorians for winning the next general elections which is the big political catch, but that would be a very easy ride. Externally, as already mentioned, the inclusion of former NCP members in this government has raised eyes brows. One only needs to look at Salva's ambivalence towards the North to detect that something more sinister must be going on? What is our business in allowing Northern parties to operate on our soil? And what is this signing of Memorandum of Understanding with opposition Northern Parties? Can he be truly friends to both the NCP ruling party and its opposition parties? That seems to be a very dangerous game. But what one would like to know is if the Khartoum government is trading a chunk of our sovereignty to allow SPLM Northern sector to operate in the Republic of Sudan? Is the SPLM still ideologically confused to make a clean break from the North? Now that we are an independent and sovereign country shouldn’t we change the name of our national army from SPLA and rename it as the army of South Sudan? Why is it our business to liberate people in the North who should now be left in peace to decide on the future of their nation without unnecessary interference from us which could constitute a legitimate aggression against a neighbouring country, with serious repercussions? What we want is for the two Sudan’s to move on to co-exist peacefully as two friendly neighbours. It is not possible for separation and reunification of a country to be done by the same generation. Salva Kiir should stop wasting our resources and energy and focus on what truly matters to South Sudan. Is the President feeling guilty and therefore apologizing to the NCP for the independence vote over which he had no control or is he trying to keep Omer Beshir sweet in order not to jeopardize the oil route? What we expect from our President is to foster civilised international relations with the North based on international principles and standards. Transportation of our oil through Port Sudan is strictly an economic matter which should not be confused with politics. The North should be paid the commercial cost for using the pipelines not a dollar less nor a dollar more. Regarding the issue of rebel groups being allegedly sponsored by the North, the President needs to adopt policies that will eventually bring peace and harmony to South Sudan and stop opening wounds that he cannot heal. President Salva Kiir should not rush with issues such as dual citizenship without proper research and consultations to understand deeper implications. We expect the President to respect the authority of Parliament to debate and pass laws or resolutions on vital matters such as dual citizenship or sending of peace keeping force to Somalia. We cannot afford to have a President who wakes up every morning to issue decrees. It is enough that President Kiir is meddling with our internal affairs. We cannot continue to tolerate the ambivalence of Kiir or of the SPLM over our sovereignty which has been purchased by the blood of our people. We have chosen to separate and totally detach from the North. If there are Southerners including the President who find it painful to detach from the North, by all means they can go back and I believe Omer Beshir and others will welcome them with open arms. If we don't watch out, we will wake up one day and find that the President has issued a decree attaching the South Sudan back to the Sudan. He is clearly hopelessly regressing towards Khartoum and it is the responsibility of every South Sudanese to stop him from meddling with our sovereignty. >From Loyalty to Performance Now that the ministers have been appointed, they need to rise up to the challenge of national call regardless of how they got there, to give the public a chance to judge them on their performance. Obviously as expected, there are those who betrayed colleagues to secure their appointments. Others have betrayed their communities or constituencies. Now that they are holding public offices, they need to do the right things and serve all South Sudanese people equally without fear or favour. We want to see ministers who understand the functions of their ministries, and are open to all not just to people from their tribes or areas. We want to see ministers who are in touch with people's expectations and can relate to the feelings, fears and difficulties of the common man and woman, on the streets. We want to see ministers who are thinking more with their heads and hearts than with their stomachs. Equally important is the perception of these Ministers. To the extent that they perceive their appointments as favours they do not deserve, they will do nothing other than obeying orders which will be pathetic. Conclusion Overall, the ability of ministers and other constitutional post holders, to deliver must be judged against the following background: 1. The impact of the centralisation of powers on the person of the President in the infamous Transitional Constitution of the Republic of South Sudan. 2. The appointment by the President of his tribesmen in important national institutions such as the Chief Justice, the Governor of the Bank of South Sudan, Chief of Security, the Deputy Speaker and Chief Whip which has compromised the separation of powers between the executive, the legislature and the judiciary and is bad for good governance and democracy. 3. The possibility that the President will continue to work through “parallel structures” to intimidate officials and undermine their performances at all levels. 4. Governors will be undermined and played against each another. 5. Those loyalists who failed elections will continue to be lavishly showered with powerful positions to undermine those who won, making a mockery of elections. 6. And communities will continue to be pitted against each other with no end to intra-communal and inter-communal conflicts and violence in sight. This will be the Republic of South Sudan under Salva Kiir Mayardit. Therefore, whether you are an old guard, or a “home” boy or a “loyal” Equatorian, judging from the President's tract record, this cabinet will do well to survive for two years. Congratulations if you have made it, and congratulations if you have not. At the end of the day, what we say may not matter, but it will not be long before the African Awakening catches up with the Arab Awakening. 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