South Sudan; A Failed State
9 min readIn my book, Salva Kiir-led Government of South Sudan is a big fat man, who in presence of the deaf, farts so loudly with a long note, forgetting that they have the sense of smell. What a man!
Though there is no universal definition of a failed state, a failed state can be a nation seen as having failed at some of the basic conditions and responsibilities of a sovereign government, according to Wikipedia. Whoever takes all the blames is the government which comprises of individuals in the executive, legislative and judiciary branches of the government. One of the core indicators of a failed state is extreme political corruption. Let me start it off with corruption because it is the only disease every single failure a nation suffers stems from.
Firstly, you seriously need to remember that the Government of South Sudan was granted self-autonomy in January 9, 2005 not July 9, 2011. This means it has been exercising sovereignty just like any other African government, but with exception of few restrictions such as buying of arms and ammunitions and involvement in some international treaties.
CORRUPTION: Corruption is one of the things most talked about in African governments but South Sudan’s is the worst. A Kenyan writer, Peter Wanyonyi in his article titled South Sudan Adopted Kenya’s Worst Habit published on The Standard website on March 18, 2012 writes: “Corruption is stifling the new State, too — the South Sudanese appear to have heartily taken to heart the Kenyan tradition of kitu kidogo. Corruption is so bad that the cost of doing business in the new country is among the highest in the world. Everyone is on the take and ministers are said to ask openly for bribes to approve deals.”
It’s at its climax. Everyone talks about it but no one does anything about it because, I think, nobody wants to die right now. And with the “electrical fault” burning down offices along with important documents, attempts to bring to book those involved in grand corruption will always bear no fruits.
In the beginning, out of love or sympathy or whatever it is, the international community and individual friendly countries pumped billions of dollars into the region for development but little did they know that it was going to be individuated and used to develop few specific stomachs. Nobody dared make necessary noise about the stolen billions of dollars until Arthur Akuein, the former Finance minister showed up the other day and tried to shame some names. How did the case go? We all believe that billions got stolen but the concerned institutions like anti-corruption commission just doesn’t have the capacity to find out who the thieves are, how much they have stolen and when.
The recent court case of Pagan Amum generates more questions than answers. The weirdest thing about it was the speed with which the court ran with it – neck breaking speed, I guess. Where on this God’s good earth, especially during these modern times, would a high-profiled corruption case take less than a second to file a lawsuit, try the accused, and announce the verdict?! Jesus Christ! It says a lot about our judicial system.
Well, he did not “eat” the cash. Where did it go then? Who ate it? If Akueindit had wired it into the account of SPLM, why does it seem hard to arrive at the truth? SPLM is a well-structured government institution administered by prominent officials. Why couldn’t the team investigating the scandal, if any, interrogate those that were “close” to the huge amount; the likes of the manager, finance officials and administrator? Come on, guys. Don’t tell me the dollars flew away because I know very well that they do not have wings. Neither do they develop wings; Not American dollars! Someone somewhere celebrates seven days a week for owning that money. If the police, court and anti-corruption commission can’t fix this simple puzzle, what exactly are they? By-standers or spectators, I believe.
I perceive the return of Akuein as a gift from God, a “John Black” those who really care about the image of South Sudan could use to whip the asses of whoever greedily swallowed the billions. Unfortunately, no one wants to own up Akueindit. I believe he knows the thieves and the amount each stole but he just cannot do anything now. He is so powerless. He has no one to run to for help. In my mind, the whole saga is a chess game. The black queen is in a position to attack and capture a white rook but it just can’t do it because the rook is lying within the L-shape of a white knight which happens to be covering its comrade. If, by whatever reason, the black queen decides to capture the rook, the knight would react by attacking and capturing the queen. It’s a deadlock. I can’t say who the chess pieces symbolize. It is up to you to put it together.
In international law, one must have tangible evidence to accuse a corrupt individual government official. Failure to do that may cost you a jail term. This makes it impossible to fight corruption all over the world, particularly in South Sudan. But in real sense, corruption is seen through many things in so many ways. Check this out: A senior polygamous government employee X got appointed in 2005. He has so many kids such that he never remembers their names each time he visits them: “Hey you. Come here my daughter. Remind me of your name. Who is your mother? I promised I will never forget your name again.” he once fumbled. He gets Y salary per month. He owns houses in Nairobi and Kampala. He also possesses a fleet of posh rides; even his house attendants commonly called “aunties” ride his old V-8s. He is handling school fees for both his Arsenal of children and a Man U of nieces and nephews and in-laws. High-class living is what they have indulged in. Children do eat out. Pizza inn is their dining table. He has bought a number of plots in Juba. Now do the Maths. An X salary times seventy-seven months is equal to……? Now, add up his overall spending and subtract it from the 77-month salary. I bet you would arrive at negative something if you’re a good mathematician.
ANTI-CORRUPTION COMMISSION: Since its inception in 2006, the commission has never prosecuted any single official for involvement in corrupt deals. In fact, it has never publicly named one even though it was investigating about sixty cases of corruption. The commission, normally animalized as a dog, does not bark; leave alone the fact that it is toothless. Why is it that weak and useless? Someone would say it is simply because one cannot investigate a fellow thief. It is like, after carrying out a bank robbery with your pal, you knock at his door the following day and question why he robbed the bank. It’s just weird and silly. It never happens! As you read this sentence, South Sudan Law Society is staying in the ass of one of the anti-corruption senior officials for embezzling millions. How do you expect such a person to face another embezzler?
MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT, NATIONAL ASSEMBLY: Shortly before or after declaration of independence, some great news echoed that Obama administration handed to Kiir, a list containing names of 13 top government officials believed to be behind the reason why South Sudan refused to develop since they stole and stashed billion dollars in foreign banks. Rumors said Obama wanted the 13 out of the first country’s cabinet.
The MPs, our MPs first boldly, rationally and constitutionally demanded that Kiir reveal the 13 economic vampires before they approve the cabinet. But surprisingly, the boldness, rationale and constitutional obligations melted away, giving the cabinet a green light. Reports say the SPLM members; the huge majority in the parliament neutralized the efforts to have Kiir publicize the names. For Christ’s sake, why did they throw in the towel yet it was and still is a national grave matter? Every citizen wanted to know who the 13 are. This leaves a simple normal-minded citizen like me to contemplate, freestyle in thinking. Here I go: Note the word “top” that appears a number of times in the following sentences. The government is led by top SPLM members. Majority of top ministers in the government are SPLM members and the top party in the parliament is SPLM that raise top votes. More importantly, amongst the Obama list are top government officials. I think an element of “top” influenced the move by the parliament to not bug Kiir with the Obama list. I love my MP!
Lastly, a common man may not know the ugly games the government plays, the personalized decisions it makes, but he is always at the receiving end. In so many ways, he pays for all the wrongdoings the government commits; selfishness, political unproductiveness.
I know South Sudan has changed a lot compared to the state it was in 2005 but what, in developmental terms, can the government brag about? After seven years, roads, modern roads, are still struggling to “get out” of Juba. Clean drinking water is a problem. Only few selected homes in the city get running water. The whole city depends on Ethiopians for their tank water. It’s comical. The USAID-sponsored water project at Hamza Inn was meant for the citizens. Reversedly, foreigners run it. They sell water to its owners. Hospitals and clinics are useless. Nurses are ever grumbling over arrears. Recently, two children died at Juba’s Sabah hospital simply because no doctor attended to them. Besides, importers bring in drugs that expired ten years ago. The same with many other trade items; how do they get in? Someone told me that a customs officer, to check out goods quality, say milk, removes a packet and drinks it up. If nothing happens to him in ten minutes, he nods his head in acceptance, allowing the importer to enter with the goods. God help us! Don’t you think it’s the reason why a medic at Juba hospital complained the other day? This dude said the number of corpses overwhelms the mortuary. The numbers increase day by day. There are no enough rooms to store them before they are taken for burial. Why are South Sudanese dying like flies? What is killing them? Expired items, I believe.
Good citizens are getting wasted at petrol stations. They painfully spend hours on long queues as they hustle to buy fuel at Somali-owned gas stations. Foreigners have monopolized fuel business. They hoard it and sell it at any time they want, and at any price. If we cannot control what is rightfully ours, aren’t we losers?
Life is pathetic. Pound is depreciating hour after hour. $100 is now equivalent to 500 SP. What the heck? The rate is being controlled by cattle keepers. Isn’t it funny? What’s the central bank doing? Nothing! Living cost is so high. People are suffering. Food prices have tripled within few months of independence. There is no food. The little has been bought up by the haves. People are hungry.
A state does not have to be forty years old in order to be considered a failed state and vice versa; it depends on every step the government makes and its impact on the lives of citizens. Believe it or not, the world knows that South Sudan is a failed state but it just can’t let it out because it would paint a bad image on splitting of countries. It would discourage the international community from supporting a marginalized people who would want to be a separate nation. The foreign institutions can fool people but not everyone. They are business entities, remember. You can’t expect them to admit their failures, publicly. Think! I strongly believe that the percentage of those living below poverty line will shoot up soon. No, it has already shot up.
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