Public Lecture Delivered by Dr. Lam Akol in Nyakuron Cultural Centre in Juba
11 min readDr. Lam Akol: THE ISSUES OF NATIONAL DIALOGUE
The Republic of South Sudan came into being on the 9th of July 2011 and thus became the newest country in the international community. Naturally, the new state is facing enormous challenges; challenges that require the unity of purpose among its citizens to address them. To achieve this objective, a serious deep dialogue is required on the national level.
The African Experience:
South Sudan has at its disposal the experiences of the countries that became independent before it, whether in Africa or in other developing countries. It must study that wealth of experience in order to build on the positive aspects and avoid the mistakes committed. We do not need to get mired in the same mud!
The African struggle for independence after the Second World War, concentrated on political independence paying little heed to the concomitant economic independence. The battle cry was “seek thee first the political kingdom and other things shall follow”. When the independence was attained, they got stuck with the colonial underdevelopment economics leading them to a cul-de-sac. Hence, it was not by accident that the 1960s and early 1970s of the last century were dominated by military coups in many African countries. It is interesting to note that Communique No. 1 of all these coups were remarkably similar in content promising better life for the people. The few that did not experience a military coup, such as Kenya and Zambia, adopted a one-party system which was in effect a civilian dictatorship.
Economically, almost all the independent African countries were at some stage treated to the Structural Adjustment Programme, SAP, which really did sap our meagre resources. SAP presented all countries that sought to benefit from the resources at the disposal of the Britton Woods institutions with the same formula of austerity measures (reduction of the work force, devaluation of the currency, lifting subsidies on commodities, etc.). We now know that if a country is dependent economically on other countries, the political independence becomes nothing more than a national flag and some trappings of power. The adage has it: “you cannot bite the finger that feeds you”.
Closer home, the two parties that ruled Sudan at the democratic intervals since 1954 (the National Unionist Party, NUP (latter transformed into Democratic Unionist Party, DUP, after unity with the People’s Democratic Party, PDP), and the Umma party) did not differ much from their African counterparts. Nothing in their programmes was related to development. To them democracy was just winning elections and running the country the way they wanted. “Al beled beledna, wa nehna asyadah”– the country is ours, and we are its masters- ran the infamous slogan of one of these sectarian parties! Little wonder that almost all the military coups that took place in Sudan found no resistance from the masses of the people. In fact, the 1958 “coup” was a handing over of power by the Umma party Prime Minister to the leadership of the army.
Also, the war in South Sudan and the heavy toll it exacted on the economy lay behind the 1964, 1985 and 1989 regime changes. In fact, the Southern Problem was effectively used by the Northern political parties in their power struggle. As an example, the release by the 1958 government of the well-researched Cotran report on the “Torit disturbances” was motivated by the desire to embarrass Ismail Al Azhari more than to lay the facts bare.
The Exigency of National Dialogue
The national dialogue is urgent and important because as a new state we need to develop a consensus on matters of national concern to us all so that all the political parties and the civil society organizations commit themselves totally to them. Having accepted democracy as the way to govern ourselves, governments change as different parties win elections. However, if we have all agreed on certain principles and policies, these will not change when power changes hands among political parties. This is the time to develop that consensus. We have successfully convened and concluded the “All Southern Sudanese Political Parties Conference” in October 2010. We can build on that as we debate issues in the national dialogue.
What are the Issues?
South Sudan has diverse cultures, ethnic groups, languages and religious beliefs. Hence, National Unity comes at the top of our agenda on national dialogue. As a people, we fought the war together and faced the difficulties engendered by it together. However, there is no denying of the fact that we were more cemented together by our dislike of the common enemy. The experience of the regional government of South Sudan (1972-1983) opened our eyes in a glaring manner to this reality. Therefore, we need to develop a common purpose to which we should give undivided allegiance as a people. In this respect, we must turn our diversity into an asset; something Sudan has miserably failed to do since independence. We must scratch beyond the surface to dig out how we can manage our diversity to the benefit of all. National Unity must embrace all; big or small, minority or majority.
Of utmost urgency in our march to consummate national unity is to quickly bring to an end the insecurity caused by inter and intra-communal violence and the rebels fighting our government.
National Unity must be predicated on good governance that rests on six pillars: provision of security, supremacy of the rule of law, multi-party democracy, a conducive environment for economic growth and prosperity, service delivery and a vibrant civil society.
Multi-party democracy as a system of government is the only guarantee of sustainable peace in our country. It is the only means that there can be a level field for all. Therefore, all must internalize it. Democracy is not just a seasonal process but a way of life that permeates all our actions in the political sphere. In our national dialogue, the principle of democracy is not subject to debate, rather, we need to discuss how to improve our ways and give equal opportunity to all to express themselves and to organize themselves into political parties and civil society organizations. The lead role here lies with the party(ies) wielding power. Democracy can never be complete if there is no strong opposition to the government of the day. The government should not see the opposition as an enemy, and the opposition should be presenting constructive criticism to government policies, not to the government as an institution. Both are different faces of the same coin.
South Sudan needs to set in place stringent fiscal and monetary policies and measures to control inflation and induce the revival and expansion of the economy. There is no way we can realize our ambition to achieve progress without paying heed to this important aspect. Without real growth in the economy, the lot of our people will remain pathetic: unemployment will continue to rise and other social and economic indices will continue to register poor performance. We must look critically at the tax regime operating now in South Sudan with a view of making the businesses pay the requisite taxes. It is also a must to diversify the sources of national income instead of relying solely on oil revenue which is a non-renewable source of energy characterized by instability in prices. The axe must also decisively fall on the current high government expenditure.
Development is our gateway to social advancement, economic growth and prosperity in our country. Our people have suffered immensely during the war and the attainment of peace was for them “payback time”. They have great expectations in terms of service delivery and better times ahead. Such expectations cannot be met without a coherent and realistic long-term socio-economic development plan (call it SP 2020, SP 2025, etc.) that taps our natural resources and takes into consideration the complexities of the world economic situation around us. This plan is to be agreed upon and worked out by all the active sections of our society. We live in a world where the boundaries are disappearing as regions and the world at large, as the case may be, turn into one huge market. In the case of South Sudan, we may join the East African Community, COMESA, etc. with large populations (more than 400 and 100 million, respectively, for COMESA and EAC) forming one market without custom duties on their products. Hence, a country that does not produce competitive goods and services turns into a consumer and cannot enjoy the benefits of such an association. We are a country endowed with agriculture, both plant and animal.
This is the field in which more than 80% of our population are engaged for their living. We have millions of hectares of virgin land, huge water resources and enough capital to invest in plant agriculture. In the field of animal resources and fisheries, we need to transform our huge cattle wealth into the economic value they should be and establish fishing areas and ponds. Poultry is essential to our food requirements and needs to be taken care of. Our oil resources must be directed to bring about an agricultural revolution to produce enough food for ourselves (food security) and for export. Rather than being a basket case, we can be the bread basket of the region and beyond. Remember that some countries of the Gulf import sheep and meat from Australia!
The purpose and means of development is the human being. Hence, our human resources need to be classified and trained in a way that will make them competitive in this rapidly changing world. Therefore, quality education and continuous training must be meticulously planned and implemented at all levels. In this respect, it is to be stressed that bad policies and negative social attitudes towards certain types of education in Sudan, have disturbed the necessary ratio between the technicians and the professionals. To address this imbalance, we need to establish technical and technological education from primary to tertiary levels separate and parallel to the academic stream.
Our industrial development must begin with agro-industry. This is where we command a clear competitive edge. Sugar industry; food canning; vegetable oils and associated industries of soaps, detergents, animal meals; fish canning and preservation; forestry products with due regard to afforestation; paper and fuel from plants; herbs; etc. The list is long. Industry needs energy to drive it. In this regard, we need to develop hydro-electric power from our falls and other renewable forms of energy, such as solar and wind. Of course, for some time to come we may not be able to dispense with thermal energy while our oil lasts.
The oil we produce is a very important source of export revenue. However, South Sudan needs to build at least one refinery not only to supply our needs of fuels and asphalt, but also to form the basis of petrochemical industry to supply our needs in plastics and related products.
Tourism is another promising field for South Sudan. A good blend of wildlife conservation practices and commercial investment in parks, hotels, inns, etc, is very likely to give excellent results and good income. Care must, however, be taken to avoid aspects of the tourist industry that impact negatively on our values.
The area of transport and communications infrastructure deserves special attention, so that we link the areas of production with the markets, connect the rural areas with the towns and improve security as access to previously remote areas would be possible. In the transport sector, river transport should be given priority not only as the least expensive mode of transport but additionally because most parts of South Sudan are connected by water arteries that are navigable either seasonally or, as in most cases, all-year round. This was the case during the colonial period and there is no reason why it shouldn’t be the case now with more sophisticated technology available. A number of friends of South Sudan, such as Norway and Holland, have helped before and can help us now develop river transport efficiently.
Another pressing area in the transport sector is the construction of all-seasons roads with priority given to those connecting areas not accessible by river or to highways linking us with neighbouring countries. When we were young, we used to hear about the Juba-Lodwar road. It is about time it becomes a reality, as it is an important link to connect us to the continental highway, the dream of Sir Cecil Rhodes two centuries ago to build a highway from Cairo to the Cape! Kenya has already constructed their part to Lokichogio and beyond, it is incumbent on South Sudan to complete the remaining part from Juba to the border. The other trunk is that from Nimule to Uganda. The railway project will have to wait for the simple reason that the bulk quantities, to and fro, needed to render its operation economical will not be available for the near future given the current state of our economy.
A lot of lip-service is given to the encouragement of investment in our country. There are a number of matters that need to be straightened for a meaningful and desirable investment to take place. First and foremost, the government must have an investment map for the country as a whole. Second, given the difficult infrastructural status of South Sudan, there need to be real incentives for the investors to come in, unless we want them to invest in towns only where facilities are better. Third, there are other impediments that need to be overcome, such as security, multiple taxation, employment policies, etc.
Foreign affairs is the area that demands consensus among all the stakeholders in the country more than the rest. We need to agree on the principles that guide our foreign policy that cannot change with the change of governments. Our diplomacy must serve our common interest in political, economic and social fields. In joining the international and regional bodies we have thus entered into commitments we must be prepared to respect, abide by and implement. We need to prepare ourselves for the new situation.
Corruption is a disease that eats into our meagre resources and it seems to have reached a cancerous stage. We must marshal all our energies to stamp it out. The President has time and again declared his intention to fight corruption. We should join him and support him fully in this national endeavour. Fighting corruption is not an easy task, and if we are lax in carrying out the fight or if we do not get to its roots, it can defeat us. Therefore, it is a responsibility for all citizens to root out this disease.
Conclusion:
The birth of the Republic of South Sudan has placed upon our shoulders the responsibility to set it on the right path of development. As a people, we need at this stage to carry out a deep wide-ranging dialogue among ourselves to develop a common approach to our future. We must develop a national consensus on issues that transcend party lines, so that all of us pay undivided allegiance to these issues. The management of our diversity is central to this dialogue. Thus, National Unity, a sound socio-economic development plan and good governance are the hallmark of the national discourse.
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