Amateur Political Spin Doctors in South Sudan
By Barnabas Awuol Deng [Sydney, Australia]
South Sudan, although a new nation, has learnt the ways of corruption faster than a light could travel. The word corruption in South Sudan has been used more than any other word in English, like the way the word ‘insurgence’ was over-used in the US during president Bush’s time with his War on Terror. The over-usage of this word in South Sudan is an indication that a day never goes by without the consequences of that ugly practice being felt by the citizens of our young nation. This is because corruption in South Sudan has reached unprecedented heights and could possibly be argued to have emanated from within. Although the new country is infamously known for playing blame games and denial of known facts that has tainted her reputation at home and abroad, the men in power seems to display no shred of remorse for every immoral act they have committed so far.
Indeed in the mind of many, sad as it may sounds, many guerrilla-turned politicians seem to believe in the sharing of public funds amongst themselves as a rightful practice under the façade of being liberators of the country. But is it necessary that ‘great freedom fighters should become public looters’ as put by Professor Paul Moorcraft? We know of many excellent African freedom fighters who have endured oppression long enough than could possibly be deciphered by many SPLA’s ex-combatant. Such people didn’t claim their rewards in monetary form; instead they were paid with respect, honour, cashless award, medals. They gained satisfaction and happiness from the dignity and respect accorded to them by their countrymen for their loyalty and selfless services to their country, virtues with no mercantile quality.
Our politicians, the self-made Barons and Kings of our time, like our nation, are so new and so young in contemporary politics. To learn on the job, they have decided to eat our country hastily while standing up. The problem with their style of eating is that they have infected the food they are eating with an infectious disease that spreads like a wild fire. They have forgotten about the future altogether. Their take on tomorrow is a common guess for the man on the street. But wouldn’t it be great if the country is developed first and people sit down and eat together? Even the rough-necked monitor lizard would fetch a bug in the blazing sun and run into the shed to enjoy it. Those simple table manners are hard to be adopted by our big boys, instead they seems to be imparting their ill knowledge to the young ones that, political graft and its associated vice is normal
The stage in the cycle of this disease that I loathe the most is when politicians deny the consequences of their actions and lay blame on others when they surely know the reason why ordinary citizens suffer under the scorching heats in makeshift tents beside some dusty roads is a result of their making.
It just doesn’t make sense when politicians makes comment that are, on the face of it, contrary to the widely known facts. It creates a fool out of someone to conjure in one’s mind that everyone out there is deaf and dumb. Although some political aspects of government needs to be gyrated around, in what is called political spinning, such a sly way of twisting facts doesn’t always occur in a vacuum, there has to be a tiny bit of truth on which to wrap the bigger lie.
The recent story on The Aljazeera television: ‘Inside Story – Can South Sudan Combat Corruption?’ states that in the year 2006-7 over a billion dollar in oil proceeds went unaccounted for could be an example. I was revealed in the recent Auditor General’s Report that in the year 2007-11, there has never been any financial report for non-oil revenue collected at the national and states level. Millions of dollars went missing, possibly ‘smuggled across the nations’ border in bags,’ some of which was allegedly caught at international airports in countries as far as Australia.
With everyone getting tired of the lips service provided by the men in power and the porous powers granted to the toothless Anti-corruption Commission, it appears the president was being haunted by the heart breaking cries of the starving mass, and the nightmares of the martyrs who seems to roll in their unmarked graves every time millions of public money is siphoned into private accounts without question asked. It was such time that the president decided to send out 75 letters to the ‘fat cat guys,’ just to borrow Professor Moorcraft’s terms, ‘in case some of the government officials must have corporate with’ owners of the bogus companies in the Dura Saga as argued by Mr Marial Benjamin, the South Sudan’s Minister for Information.
What sends my mind into a whirling confusion is that, in the Aljazeera interview, Marial seems to be disputing that the 75 black sheep who were sent letters and promised amnesty by president Kiir, if they stealthily deposit the stolen money into the nominated bank account in Kenya, were not corrupt senior government officials. The minister seems to blame everything on Khartoum even when it’s factually known and reported around the world that 4billion dollars have been stolen by the SPLM government officials and indeed, Kiir’s letter of amnesty was written purposely to that effect. Since most SPLM top dogs always prefer blaming Khartoum for their wrong doings even after the independence, one wonders whether any of those 75 letters had a Khartoum address on it.
It could be deduced from the fact that allegations were flying around and the SG Pagan Amum and former finance minister, Arthur Akuien Chol tried their litigious personalities in one of the most embarrassing and controversial legal suit ever. Subsequently after that case, and during the 75 letters turmoil, the president himself had to admit that the SPLM’s credibility ‘was on the line.’ At least that was soothing to the heart and I, perhaps with others, respect the president for that bold and humble admission because real men take responsibilities for their actions. However, the minister contrary to his president objected that those 75 government officials were not suspects.
It is just that those ‘government officials must have made it easier’ for the grain scandal to occur said the minister for information. In other words, the minister meant to say that those 75 government officials aids, abets, or counsels a corruption scandal in which those fake companies committed the alleged crime. For, what constitute aiding or abetting a crime at law if it’s not the act of making it easier for the criminal to commit the crime, orchestrating it, hiding the criminal who has committed a crime or taking part in the actual commission of the crime? What is obstruction of justice if not the act of wilful concealment of documents or information that could lead to the prosecution of a suspect? If that be true, plainly as it sounds, then is there anything called being an accessory to a crime in the laws of South Sudan? Does our government know what money laundering is?
In my humble opinion, I don’t blame those bogus companies if ever there were any. The government seems to blame those fictional companies by calling them ‘fake’ or ‘bogus’ companies in order to use them as a scapegoat.
Who in his right sense would order a transfer of a million dollar into an account held by a ‘fake’ company with has no credible business operating history? Who would provide a loan to an individual or a corporate body without a guarantor or a collateral/security? If it was because the country was new and no credible companies were registered at the time, or no contractual laws in place, then even a pastoralist knows before he could lend a stranger his ox for whatever reason, the borrower will have to secure a something called dhamana. A shrewd government employee would ascertain the delivery of goods first before a full price could be paid if the circumstances of the contract are questionable. By such analogies, it would be peculiar to content that someone tricked me into wiring millions of dollars into ghost accounts and claim innocence. Isn’t there anything called negligent at law?
If by any chance those bogus companies exist, and they have fooled the government into cashing their fake projects, then who is to blame, the negligent ‘yes’ government departments or the witty fake companies? Those fake companies saw a hole where they could help themselves out and it was up to the government to tell them that their companies were illegitimate.
Where my mother comes from, there is a saying in reference to a fool whose property is tricked out of his possession by pure dexterity. It is called-cam ke de wen ci biou– meaning ‘eat what belongs to a naughty boy’. Since the country has no laws on unconscionable conduct and misrepresentation, the law of the jungle could apply there and those bogus companies probably ‘ate what belongs to a naughty’ SPLM government, after all the bogus companies felt left out and they decide to steal their share of the bounty. And it’s a duty of those in parliament to enact laws to that effect. Isn’t that the reason we voted them into the Legislative Assembly ya jama? Legislative Assembly for God’s sake – it’s supposed to be were laws are made to protect people’s right and their properties – both public and private.
The widely known fact about Dura Saga is that contracts were awarded to friends, relatives, in-laws and business associates to purchase cars that were highly priced ten times the recommended dealer or manufacturer’s price. That is the most sophisticated form of corruption, however much those concerned try to go around it.
To extrapolate on those points and how the SPLM-led government spins its political affairs, someone who cares to analysis matters critically would have a field day. Dr Riek Machar Teny, the vice president of ROSS, in most of his public appearance has always acknowledged the prevalence of corruption in his party-led government. He won’t hesitate to condemn it outright as the nation’s worst disease. Apparently, Machar had, in recent time, encouraged all government officials to declare their wealth in order to ‘clear doubts and flying accusations’ in relation to the missing 4billion dollars. Unfortunately, Mr VP was quoted in a recent article on Gurtong written by Benjamin Majok Mon as saying, at a rally in Lakes state, that the alleged missing billions from the national reserves ‘may not be missing after all.’
The VP argued that those allegations were coined to defame SPLM. Defame SPLM by whom? Hasn’t SPLM already defamed and deformed itself by clutching their arms and dragging themselves to court on a defamation case? Wasn’t the SPLM Chairman, the same president who lamented the credibility of the SPLM as being on the line because of the entrenched culture of corruption?
The VP was also quoted as saying that “four billion is too much money to be taken by 75 officials.” For Christ’s sake! How naïve and vague is that argument? Paradoxically, it begs the question whether the VP intends to tell us that 4billion is too much money and is not capable of being divided amongst 75 thieves, or that it requires few men from Mars with inhumane feelings to embezzle such huge sum of our hard-earned public money. This is money from oil revenue that we are talking about here. The same money from the source that saw jec a chaabi teaches Bashir’s boys a lesson in Panthou. Those soldiers fought with valour because they were defending their country and protecting its resources. Don’t we expect the same from those who claims the know-how to lead?
The later point that 4billion dollars is too much to be divided among 75 non-God fearing ex-soldier boys is just absurd, the former is possible only in South Sudan where men in power fit the above description. Doesn’t the VP know that divisibility is one characteristics of money? With due respect, by simple arithmetic wouldn’t anyone literally know that 4billion divided amongst 75 unscrupulous government officials is around 53,333,333.33 dollars each. Is that money too much for the hungry South Sudanese politicians? Would it be a defamation to say that most senior government officials have more than 50million dollars in their account? In which country around the world would a civil servant or minister honestly make 50millions dollars in 5 or 7yrs?
Logically, 4billion dollars would be big money for a few individuals to steal if such individuals bear some shred of morality. Such amount of money from public money is a sum out of question for a few to turn their mind to, covet, and decide to steal and indeed go ahead and steal it. One South Sudanese Pound from the public money would compel a man of ethical and moral values to think twice before he could sneak it into his own pocket. One reason that needs to be brought to the attention of most South Sudanese politicians is that, most people don’t refuse to steal for fear of being caught, but for an innate feeling that, stealing is immoral. That is a virtue taught to me by my father.
The problem with SPLM politicians and government senior officials is their crude assumption that every citizen, given the current level of illiteracy possibly engendered by the SPLM’s poor and irresponsible governance, is illiterate, dump, fearful and could simply be bossed around, pushed or fooled by slapping cheap, illogical and unsubstantiated political propagandas on their face. I consider that as an intellectual and moral insult per se. Only a pastoralist with the lowest IQ possible and numerical skills that doesn’t exceed hundred would believe that 4billion dollars is too much money to be possessed by, or divided amongst 75 persons. Our politicians should know by now that South Sudan has some few people who can think critically. The fact that they are allowed to muddle with our national affairs is not a mere justification that no one can do their jobs better them.
While most of our big bellied boys may be argued to have a minimal level of education by the international standard, they tend to be very good at employing fallacies to back up their ill actions.
Most politicians are prone to appealing to illogical premises. This is one of the reasons why fighting corruption will require an effort from outside. When I say from outside, I mean not those who are benefitting from it. The argument that, ‘why can’t I steal when everyone is stealing’ is an example of a fallacy of illogical premises. It has no logical basis to steal just because others are stealing when you personally know that stealing is immoral.
Another fallacy commonly used by our boys is when some sheep in wolf skin portray it on the fore that they are patriotic statesmen by chanting SPLA Oyee at the top of their voice, even in churches and at weddings, or wrapping themselves in the colours of our national flag to make us believe that they are nation builders who stand for the service of our country. That’s also a fallacy of appeal to symbol. Unfortunately they need to be cautious of when and where to use such fallacies and who would buy them. I would advise them to search for new grounds because South Sudanese are too wise to be fooled. And not in the West either because I am afraid you will be spoiling the image of South Sudan. I for once don’t buy those cheap talks.
At the time the country needed most help while at the verge of derailing economically, it was something akin to a miracle when Ted Dagne came to South Sudan as Kiir’s adviser. He decided to tackle the knee-deep corruption by starting with the letters. Indeed, it seems Dagne was the messiah that South Sudanese mass needs to redeem them from the vices of corruption. Someone like Dagne was more unlikely to lose his identity in SPLM given his profile as a man with a dream for South Sudan.
A report by Alan Boswell on McClatchy.com reported that James Gatdet, the VP’s Press Secretary cast the blame on Ted Dagne, a policy expert Ethiopian American who was contracted by the United Nation as president Kiir’s advisor. Gatdet argued Dagne to have exaggerated and estimated the figure of stolen money to 4billion. Another man at a wrong place at the wrong time and on whom sheer blame could be cast upon. Typically SPLM!
Boswell wrote that Dagne ‘wrote news releases on behalf of the government and was frustrated with U.S. policy on the two countries, which he said he was trying to change to be more pro-South Sudan.’ In this quotation, Dagne seem to be a man whose career as a policy expert in Washington has always been pro-South Sudan. At the time the poor man thought that he would be very instrumental in eliminating corruption in a country he is so attached with yet, so alien to, the government decided to send him parking and warned him never to return.
SPLM seems to have just bitten the finger of the only person who ever cared to feed them, sending a message that they don’t need any help from anyone. It’s like kicking your wife out of the house to subsequently wish she was around when it gets cold. They seem to be just ok messing up our affairs, and tomorrow when all goes wrong, we may run for humanitarian aid. However, there seems to be a growing ‘compassion fatigue in the west’ as said by Professor Moorcraft. What message does that send to the International Community? We can’t just mess up our affairs and expect help somewhere, do we? That’s some Public Relation gone bad!
Barnabas A. Deng, a South Sudanese student of law and Arts at the University of Western Sydney, resides in Sydney, Australia; and can be reached through his email: badbilly85@live.com
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