Is Federalism The Elusive Price for Peace in South Sudan?
By Malith Alier
Peace is the absence of war and other upheavals that disturb tranquillity in a given setting, in this case South Sudan. Many of us cogitate that this country paid dearly to secure peace in 2005 going forward. The estimates of 2 to 2.5 million souls lost over a period of over twenty years still cause mental anxiety particularly if another war reignites.
The December 15 bloody uprising is the mother of all wars of self-interest this country deserves not. It did not cross one’s mind that the joy of independence was going to be a vicious cycle of militia activity motivated by nothing short of having self a place on the high table on the land, in the government.
In the Too Agreements Dishonoured, Abel Alier, the author stated that many South Sudanese after the 1972 Addis Ababa Peace Agreement (APA) refused to work in agriculture and commerce because of one thing, only to work in government. Today, though to some extent, this is the case with the violent militia backed by enemies of South Sudan independence.
Once in the government, the self-interest groups or individuals take liberty to do as they wish to fulfil their long held ambition called acquisition of wealth. Being in the government is a carte blanche for acquisition of wealth which is a gateway to fame, many wives, many friends and multiple investments in the country and abroad. Is this one component of the elusive price for peace?
The quarter century war of independence was justified on the pretext of oppression, slavery and lack of development in the southern part of the former Sudan. Ironically, war seemed to have completely entered some people’s veins and therefore, have no self worth except through war. For them, every problem is only solvable through guns. Your voices are heard after taking up arms against innocent people who have nothing to do with country’s wealth centred on Juba. The result is death, displacement and suffering. The goal is reintegration into the government where one will have a free hand on wealth and be part of the system forever. A home in a high class residential suburb, Hai Amarat crowns it all. Even a home in Amarat is enough. One along with his entire family, relatives and friends can choose to stay at exclusive hotels in Juba at taxpayers’ expense. Be mindful not to leave behind a cosy V8 and other fringe benefits like fully paid travels and healthcare abroad.
A reward for waywardness is the order of the day in South Sudan politics in recent years. Further, bogus claims have developed of late like the autonomy on the ground of underdevelopment. Greater Pibor administrative area (GPAA) is one such example. However, this is not entirely a bad development because many likewise folks are likely to demand for similar treatment. The people in the union of what once was called Jonglei State are the first in line to directly benefit from this new development. Jonglei State has been inhabited by animals, not people who reason and understand together. Child abduction, cattle raids and wanton killings are medieval practices that went back several centuries and have no place in the current century. But they have found justification in various agreements signed and effected in the letter and spirit.
To sell the Greater Pibor peace agreement to South Sudanese and their representatives in parliament, the President urged the Council of States to ratify that agreement and create and demarcate borders of new Counties in Central Equatoria so as to enhance peace. This is an example of how we South Sudanese have been searching for peace over the centuries.
Peace was outright rejected in unity of former Sudan. We looked for peace in separation but it was not there. We looked for peace in decentralisation it was not there. We looked for peace in creation of more States and Counties however; it was nowhere to be found. Therefore, the last frontier to look for peace is federalism.
The supporters of federalism argue that it is the only untried price for peace and development. It has been in demand since 1947 Juba round table. Federalism is deemed to be a panacea for all the ills and suffering people of this country went through. It will accelerate development; enhance equitable power sharing, ensure equitable resources sharing and everything good that comes with it.
Contrarily, it is not the system that fails but the people who do not know how manage the system that makes it fail. A perfection of decentralisation is a precursor of unexplored federalism. The voices for federalism are increasingly becoming louder by the day. They are even joined by high profile politicians who have failed to implement the current decentralised system of government where power is devolved to the lowest level of government. Instead of pushing for full decentralisation, they are pulling for federation which they have little clue about. To them and on top of what they thought are the benefits of federalism, are the resources underground in some States e.g oil and other minerals. Land is also another contention where people from other States are branded “land grabbers” and therefore, denied a plot of land in a city.
Everybody should understand that all resources underground, defence, foreign affairs, foreign trade including custom revenue collection are a preserve of a federal government as is the case in Australia, USA, India or Nigeria. In case your State has been eyeing such, it is now time to revise your thinking.
Federalism is good by itself. What makes it unpredictable are the people behind it. They may be having other ideas that will ruin its implementation. In this case people are likely going to get bogged down in the detail in the absence of a clear roadmap and purpose for it.
This implied that a rush to adopt and implement it will cause more problems than people think. The proponents have a strong case and so are the opponents. Therefore, in this scenario federalism must be put to test in a democratic way. Either way through referendum there will be no love lost. The President summed it up all that he alone cannot do it by his usual decrees.
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