Let us stop corruption and tribalism for both are very lethal! BY: Paul Isaac, SOUTH SUDAN
Quote: “Corruption is like a ball of snow, once it's set a rolling it must increase.” Charles Caleb Colton SEP. 6/2011, SSN; As we've now become a Nation, we'd rise above our tribal affinities and embrace our South Sudan identity. I feel time has come for us to call a spade by its right name. I am referring here to how our, President Salva Kiir, has miserably failed to properly lead us to the Promised Land time and again since he ascended to the helm of power in South Sudan. Salva and his inner circle have completely wrecked our boat and made our nation to be a subject of mockery either internally or internationally. The funny thing is that both names of our President are in fact symbolized two good things. His first name is pronounced as (Sulpha) which is known in pharmacology as Sulphonamide or sulphonamide which is the basis of several groups of drugs. The original antibacterial sulphonamides (sometimes called sulfa drugs or sulpha drugs) are synthetic and can cure a spectrum of diseases mainly gastrointestinal and bacterial diseases. Unfortunately, president Salva has not acted according to his first name. His second name in Dinka language is Kiir, which means River that is supposed to bring so many good things that includes fresh water that sustains lives and livelihoods. Additionally a River can provide the fish we eat and water to irrigate our very fertile land which has been recently reported to by most media house such as the citizen of Nairobi that:“ The agricultural sector in the independent South Sudan has more potential than the much fancied oil, gas and minerals. However, agriculture has not received the deserved attention from both locals and foreign investors compared to the other three. Compared to Kenya where only a third of the land is arable, southern Sudan has 80 per cent arable land. The traditional higher rainfall in that country promotes trees and shrubs as well as herbs, offering a high potential for agriculture. Rivers have been historically important in Sudan, with River Nile forming the basis of much of the economic activity of the former larger Sudan Citizen, (2011)”. Instead of South Sudan becoming a food basket for the World, it has miserably become under Kiir and Food aid basket of the World. Accessed from this link: http://www.thecitizen.co.tz/sunday-citizen/41-sunday-citizen-business/12697-ssudans-vast-agricultural-sector-potential-untapped.html What I am trying to allude to here is that Kiir has never been as his name may suggest a cure to our diseases of backwardness, poverty extreme food insecurity and extreme deadly intertribal/intra-tribal conflicts that have really derailed our progress or a River that can bring food and prosperity to our great nation and people because President Kiir is too passive and too slow to act. I don’t believe his problems are ignorance or lack of knowledge as an excuse for not making intellectual and prudent decisions. I believe the inability of our President to take swift and decisive action is attributed in his choice of people around him because as it has been even articulated by senior members of this ruling party the SPLM, that the president has not made an exhaustive consultation with important members of his party prior to the formation of the recent cabinet that has triggered a vey huge controversy within the SPLM party itself. However, it seems that the president has only consulted with people who are not important this to me is a very serious institutional and ideological deficiency and lack of democratic mindset from our president. This also suggest that our President has been hijacked by a group of lobbyists who are egocentric individuals who are presumably looking to enrich themselves by getting close to our President; this is evident that they are not giving him the right advice but they are simply driving him to only cherish the dominance of his close tribal affiliates from Warrap state since now that they have secured the governorship of the Central Bank of South who is now being led by an incompetent individual who was not able to managed the Ivory Bank in Khartoum due to his poor performance . Against this backdrop, his first government was marred and actually crippled by widespread corruption. For example if you go to Juba now you would find that senior army officers possessing very expensive villas and houses that I have not even seen here in Canada, including folks from my Dinka community. Where did they get all those funds in such a short time to build all these mansions? If it’s not corruption what is it? Here in the Western World where I live, if you remit an amount of $ 10,000 into your personal bank account you would be asked to justify and indicate your sources. Kiir has been talking of zero tolerance against corruption but unfortunately, has not brought the culprits of corruption to book. A clear and salient example is the grain scandal which has made the whole World to mock at us and wonder as to how do we request the international community to provide relief and food aid to our starving population while funds earmarked for purchases of grain from their government is being audaciously swindled in the watch of their president while the perpetrators are driving Hummers and some cars nicknamed “Mith-apowul” which means in English "children are alright." Mr. Kuol Athian and Arthur Akuin Chol are happy and free because no one can dare to raise a figure against them lest their confessions would engender an earthquake that may shake the presidential palace itself!!! If not so why no action is taken to date when the stolen camel is protruding his neck just across the presidential place? Ominously, corruption and stealing in South Sudan is being nicknamed “doing business”! Accordingly, we see how huge contracts are being awarded to roads construction companies such as the African Kongdai owned by an illiterate thug who does not even know his right hand from his left yet he is a millionaire who is entrusted by Kiir and co. to build roads, you would wonder as to what is going on?? Other huge contracts are being awarded to companies owned by our enemies such as Eyat company own by a certain thug known as Abdel Aziz Ahmad Elbashier. You would know that the intentions are to receive huge kickbacks as people have long been talking of several hundred million dollars awarded suspiciously to this dubious company to construct Miaraam-Aweil road without proper procedure or over transparent tendering. Of course the bulk of this money has ended in the belly of the Buffalo bank in Juba owned by an individual with a questionable past in the business World in South Sudan; at last, rumors were that when he was a Governor under Bashier NCP, he was involved in currency forgery. Now he owns a whole Bank as an individual whereas banks all over the World are not established by individuals but rather by shareholders in a public vendor in a stock market. However, I feel I am just brushing the tip of the iceberg, the mountain is still laying beneath the water. But who cares? No one! It seems as it was once said “somebody sitting in the toilet’s seat doesn't smells his own shit.” Finally being a diehard SPLA does not amount to keeping quiet as things are really going wrong and this is based on inferences one can deduce from this new cabinet that Kiir has just formed. Our future is quite pessimistic. The same corrupt and useless elements have been rewarded with other positions as if they have done well by squandering public funds. Has the wombs of South Sudanese women become barren? It’s quite disappointing if our MPs are questioning the intentions of our President when he said some of his Ministers were so corrupt, quote, “money that was stolen by some ministers and Government officials would have made great progress that it would have prevented the death of so many,” unquote. Wow! Again most of these Ministers have now retained their lucrative portfolios. Has the memory of our President run short? Whereas I will only reiterate what our MPs are asking where is the list of the 13 ministers that have illegally made fortunes in the previous government of Kiir as if Ministerial positions are becoming like a lottery in our newly born state. It seems we have forgotten the immense sacrifices made by our people during the struggle and among them our great hero who's telling us in our fathers house there are so many mansions that everyone will have a room, if it was not so I would have never started the struggle in the name of South Sudanese people’s Liberation Army/movement. Some people are now calling our party as South Sudan People’s Looting Movement. What a miserable ending for a people's centered movement. Well, time will tell if any culprit involved in the corruption scandals that have recently become subjects of amusements and mockery in Juba social gathering would really be brought to book. God help and protect us from our enemies and from our leaders. Paul Isaac, lives South Sudan and can be reached at [email protected] 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.
