BBC Africa Debate: South Sudan, one year on: Has independence lived up to your expectations?
3 min readBBC Africa Debate will be debating: South Sudan, one year on: Has independence lived up to your expectations?
The debate will take place on the 29th June at 1900GMT. I hope you can join the social media debate on the 29th June
Editorial background:
The Republic of South Sudan officially declared its independence from Sudan on 9 July, 2011. It had been a long time coming – nearly twenty years of civil war followed by six years under a Comprehensive Peace Agreement which included a promise of the southerners’ right to vote on their future. The results of the January 2011 referendum were decisive: 99 percent in favour of independence.
Expectations were huge and the celebrations momentous. Many hoped – and believed – that freedom from the north would bring an end to the country’s problems. There were high hopes too from the rest of the world as they looked in on the world’s newest nation. Neighbouring countries breathed a sigh of relief: Africa’s largest country, and one of its most volatile, had peacefully split into two – this could mean an end to instability and refugee crises in the region.
But it’s been a difficult first year for South Sudan. Many issues between North and South remain unresolved despite the separation. After a failure to agree on splitting oil revenue, the South closed down oil production and seized control of oil fields across the border. Simmering tension boiled over into border war – with concerns this could develop into full-scale conflict.
There’s been an increase too in internal ethnic conflict over the past 12 months, with thousands killed in clashes. Meanwhile the new administration has been accused of tribalism – dominated as it is by the Dinka group of President Salva Kiir.
The new South Sudan has also gained a reputation for human rights abuses and crackdowns on freedoms of speech. A number of journalists perceived to be critical of the administration have been arrested and assaulted over the past year.
The economy of South Sudan is precarious to say the least. At independence, South Sudan was one of the least developed countries in Africa – with the highest maternal mortality and female illiteracy rates in the world. It is resource rich with land ripe for agricultural development, but less than 5 per cent of land is currently in cultivation. South Sudanese believed that if they had control of their own budget and resources development might increase – but there’s little to show for that after a year.
Corruption is so rife it’s come to the attention of the president himself, who recently accused leaders of forgetting what they fought for and betraying their common vision for the country to enrich themselves.
So: have people’s expectations been met one year on? has the reality of independence simply failed to live up to the hype? What are some the key challenges the world’s newest country is facing? Is the new country being failed by its leadership?
What about its relationship with Sudan- Is renewed conflict with the North the price of independence? Can South Sudan overcome its troubled past? And what can and needs to be done to set South Sudan on the road to a brighter future? Can it draw experiences from countries that recently become independent? These are some of the questions BBC Africa Debate will be exploring in it’s June edition.
Audience/Panel: 100 invited guests including politicians (both government & opposition); religious and community leaders; civil society and NGOs; human rights organisations; economists & business journalists; northerners; foreigners resident in Juba i.e regional, Western, academics; business people; professionals, including doctors and teachers; students; AU High Level Implementation Panel on Sudan
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