Freedom brings challenges
5 min readSouth Sudan’s new autonomy as an independent country means decades of hard work ahead
BY W. ANDY KNIGHT AND PAUL NYIBEK, EDMONTON JOURNAL
On July 9, 2011, South Sudan hoisted its national flag to wild applause, tears and song just minutes after declaring independence and becoming the world’s 193rd state.
"Today we shall raise the flag of South Sudan to join the nations of the world," Pagan Amum, the secretary general of the ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), announced – speaking at the base of a giant flagpole. Whistling and wiping tears of joy from their eyes, the new South Sudanese citizens jubilantly chanted "we shall never, never surrender."
Less than a week after South Sudan’s independence proclamation, the UN General Assembly admitted the Republic by acclamation as a sovereign state within the international system, sealing the new African country’s autonomy after decades of internecine conflict.
South Sudan’s independence did not come easily. It was a struggle of nearly six decades during which an estimated 2.5 million South Sudanese died. There is probably no single family in South Sudan that did not lose a son or a daughter during the struggle. So gaining independence was a hard-earned victory for people of South Sudan. Under the 2005 peace accord that ended the lengthy civil war between North and South Sudan, voters in the South voted overwhelmingly to secede from the North.
Yet the euphoric feelings and celebrations that extended into daybreak on July 9 in Juba, South Sudan’s capital, fail to mask a sobering truth: building a functional new country will take decades of hard work. State-building responsibility falls mainly on South Sudan, but also on friendly countries such as Canada that helped shepherd this state into existence.
The world’s newest nation is already faced with seemingly intractable internal conflicts. In addition, it has yet to resolve some outstanding issues with its northern neighbour. The new state ranks at the bottom of almost all human development indicators and lacks basic infrastructure. The majority of its population lives on less than $1 a day and lacks access to basic health care. More than 10 per cent of children will not reach the age of five. And some 80 per cent of adults can neither read nor write.
After decades of northern domination and plunder, South Sudanese are naturally anticipating a new dawn of peace and prosperity. But one wonders if this hope will be quickly shattered. Over the past six years, the political elite of South Sudan has all but distanced itself from the common people, quietly admiring the privileged status of their northern oppressors. The main preoccupation of this elite has been to plunder South Sudan’s resources.
Corruption has become an open secret in South Sudan. Everyone seems to know about government officials’ houses in foreign countries and the private schools their children attend in the West or in other African capitals. Revenues meant for basic services and infrastructure development have generally been siphoned off and channelled into the personal accounts of some of the members of the ruling elite.
In the eyes of many South Sudanese, Juba has simply replaced Khartoum. While its people remain in abject poverty, those in government – largely former bush commanders in the guerrilla Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA), along with their friends, families and current SPLM higher-ups – enjoy the good life. Governance institutions, instruments and practices are designed to support the private interests of the party in power, the SPLM.
The country’s transitional constitution, which was rushed through parliament amid intimidation from the ruling party, has been widely criticized for its authoritarian characteristics. It increased presidential powers and emasculated democratic governance institutions such as parliament and the judiciary. For example, the president has the right to sack governors and state representatives unilaterally if they disagree with his positions.
All political opposition is viewed as unpatriotic, and joining the rank and file of the ruling party is highly celebrated. The ruling clique has mastered the art of subjugating the general public and strengthening tribal allegiance at the expense of developing national loyalty. This further entrenches ethnic identities as local political leaders start to organize political violence – as exemplified by numerous rebellions in the greater Upper Nile region – against ethnic groups that are perceived to be supporting political forces that oppose the ruling elite. In a country with over 60 different ethnic groups, such strategies will be a recipe for the breakup of this new nation-state.
But there are other challenges facing the new country. Many issues from the 2005 peace agreement with the North have yet to be resolved. Among them are: citizenship protection for minorities, the setting of final borders between the two countries; the future of the oil-rich region of Abyei, where fighting has recently broken out; the management of oil resources and popular consultation in Blue Nile and Southern Kordofan (the Nuba Mountains) where SPLA-North forces are currently battling Sudan Army Forces and its loyal militias.
Africa’s 54th state thus faces enormous tests. Some commentators have gone as far as to call this new entity a "pre-failed state." Cleary, the success or failure of this new state will depend on its ability to: stem the tide of elite corruption, end ethnic divisions within its own borders and find political solutions to the many outstanding issues stemming from the 2005 peace accord with its northern neighbour.
How long will the jubilation of independence last?
South Sudanese may soon find out that sovereignty is not always what it’s cracked up to be.
W. Andy Knight is chair of the department of political science at the University of Alberta. Paul Nyibek is a graduate student in that department and a recent winner of a Rotary International Fellowship.
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