David Yau-Yau is a Lone Wolf on Greater Pibor Administrative Area (GPAA)
6 min readBy Malith Alier
David Yau Yau is increasingly becoming a lone wolf on the just signed Greater Pibor Administrative Area peace agreement in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The SSDA/M, Cobra Faction leader, immediately after arriving in Juba embarked on selling his disdainful agreement to those he thinks support him the most. He visited the President two times, visited Vice President, Speaker of parliament, Ministers of Cabinet Affairs and Minister of Interiors among others.
Imagine a ship travelling with few people and would want extra passengers on the way but ironically the few passengers already on board are falling off. What would the captain of that ship do? Abandon the ship or continue with the journey, this is a dilemma the SSDM faces.
War is unpopular and so is an agreement that did not involve important constituents along with key stakeholders that may be affected by it in one way or another.
Jonglei State is the largest in South Sudan in terms of landmass and so are its unsolvable perennial problems. The root causes of these problems were for all the people of that State to identify and solve them together so that no one is left behind in a limbo. Leaving others behind tend to serve as an obstacle to any envisaged solution such as the division of Jonglei State manifested in GPAA peace agreement. Even the supposed beneficiaries like the Anyuak and Jie people have voiced their rejection of the agreement.
The GPAA agreement after conclusion received mixed reactions not only in the country as a whole but also within the area itself. The first to react were the Anyuak of Akobo County. They rejected it and completely distanced their community from it. This is primarily because the agreement specified Greater Pibor Area that also includes Pochalla County leaving Akobo as an outsider. There may be other reasons that discouraged them to join this noble endeavour to bring development to the vast and underdeveloped part of Jonglei. However, is there any more developed part of Jonglei in comparison to GPAA? The answer is none, making the claim preposterously unsubstantiated.
The second community to distance itself from future GPAA is the Jie. This was disclosed through The Citizen Newspaper on May 26 2014 on the cover page. The four Jie communities want an independent County administration that will bring development to its communities in Kessengor and surrounding areas. The eleven member Jie team led by its chairman, Mr. Zachariah Ngoletiang Lotamua couldn’t be clearer. They have been living with the Murle from time immemorial and nobody would advise them to have a second look over the proposed closer union. Cattle raids, child abductions and other social ills characterised their relationship like with Anyuak, Nuer and Bor Dinka. They know full well that bringing them together with David’s people puts them at a disadvantage and more so in the current dispensation. So, nobody should be a better advisor than their conscience remembrance.
The Kachipo or Suri is likely going to react the same way as Jie and Anyuak for the same reasons. The Murle have neighbours but hardly any friends. The Anyuak, Dinka, Nuer, Suri and Jie have been terrorised by David’s People for a long time and therefore, have no appetite for any cohabitation of any kind. If walls like those between Israel and Palestine were to be made elsewhere, then Jonglei is the right place.
The other major stakeholder group that is against the GPAA are those in the current Jonglei administration. They would lose their current positions as soon the GPAA takes effect in Pibor. This is a consensus among Jonglei communities represented in Bor. Judy Jonglei who competed and trounced David in 2010 election made this announcement of possibility of losing their positions including that of a deputy governor. Several other MPs would follow suit.
The people of GPAA would not be treated like Abyei people who are in Sudan and South Sudan governments and Abyei Area Administration making them a privileged few. Everyone courts them for a total future loyalty that never would be.
Now that greater Pibor is granted self rule what about greater Bor, Akobo and Fangak? Why should they continue in a dysfunctional union left behind by greater Pibor? Should they take up arms in order to be granted their own administrative autonomies?
South Sudan has 79 Counties and people who felt deprived and not inclusive enough demanded creation of more Counties to cater for own needs on top of which is development. Contrarily, the reaction from the Presidency was that no more creation of Counties without resources to sustain them. This assertion of no more Counties seems to have elapsed and the drive is for creation of more States within States for the sole reason of development. Wherever, the resources will be sourced is a different matter altogether.
The GPAA agreement is so far not yet effective because it has not gone through one important step, ratification by parliament. Whether it will go through like other flawed documents is not clear at this stage. We are eager to watch the debate for ratification in the Council of States and see the parliamentarians from Jonglei take their stance against or for this preferential agreement.
South Sudan is claimed to have sixty four tribes and if four (4) tribes are to be granted autonomy then the country shall have about sixteen (16) States. This is within our reach if it is what is going to solve our problems once and for all. The parliament should explore that particularly now in the wake of GPAA agreement. They do not have to wait for other underdeveloped areas to take up arms for bringing government and services closer to the people is a fundamental right enshrined in the constitution. The consequences for doing nothing are devastating just as now with Riek Machar war.
David’s and Riek’s wars are both fought in former Upper Nile region. They are a result of quest for political power. David failed to be elected and Riek was dismissed from a high ranking position in the government and therefore, both felt cheated in politics of the country. Their fighters are derived primarily from where they come from, their tribesmen. They prefer regional politics as they have no wider political appeal beyond their regions. Both derive their major military support from Khartoum, the South Sudan archenemy. They are unlikely to win on the battlefield but through agreements so that they can access government positions. Both are two-time rebels, 1991 and 2013 for Riek and 2010 and 2012 for David. On the other hand, their differences are not as many. Riek is a PhD holder but David is somehow about there. Riek is fighting for South Sudan, but David fought for Pibor autonomy.
The GPAA agreement has a number of weaknesses that would render it un-implementable in the future. It excluded key stakeholders in the negotiation. The four tribes do not all feel part of the agreement as they were not part of the fight for self rule. They sensed future disagreements in the government of GPAA. The Murle as major stakeholder would likely perpetuate the same claims they are against in Jonglei administration. Secondly, where the agreement leave David depends on President Kiir either to appoint him to head the administration or consign him to the SPLA. Either way, the Cobra Faction has no power to reject.
The agreement has set a precedent for other marginalised people in the country. They can now claim the same status as GPAA. It was only Abyei which has Abyei Administrative Area (AAA) in the context of both Sudan and South Sudan and was not regard as precedent. Therefore, with the advent of GPAA, the gate is now open for the rest to claim a special treatment like establishment of development fund in their favour. In this circumstance, the agreement is vulnerable and therefore, could be challenged in court by anyone because it is unconstitutional. The South Sudan Transitional Constitution (SSTC) recognises ten States and seventy nine (79) only.
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