Rizik’s Invitation of Capital is a Gesture of Patriotism – Goodwill
Malith Alier, Juba
What more can a patriotic citizen do in this country than to right a dysfunctional situation. Juba, Wau and Malakal are former headquarters of the former three southern provinces of the then Sudan. Every South Sudanese have an idea of what they look like and at least are informed about them in the past and present.
Juba, Wau and Malakal were also used as garrison towns during the wars of liberation, both the Anya nya and the SPLA wars.
Juba, in the former Equatoria province has its fair share of controversies. It is the birthplace of Kokora. It is inhabited by the most selfish and enigmatic tribes in form of the Bari speakers.
This author is not sure why Juba was chosen in 1972 after APA to host the headquarters of the Southern Region (SR) when it was not suitable for the purpose. The same mistake reoccurred in 2005 after the CPA. The entrenched selfishness characterised by hostility of the Bari speakers is what made patriotic citizens of Western Bhar El Ghazal to invite the capital for Wau nahr!
On the 16 July 2014, Mr. Rizik Zachariah Hassan suggested that the capital be transferred from Juba to Wau in a rare gesture of goodwill never seen or heard of from anybody in this country. He went on to defend the suggestion on the 16 August exactly one month later on many grounds among them is the issue of “land grabbing” supposedly prevalent in Juba.
Land grabbing is the single important issue cited by the Jubans or the host community year in year out. This is such that people who come from elsewhere outside Equatoria region are all land grabbers.
On the other hand, Wau is unlikely to dwell so much on the land grabbing because it has a master plan lacking for Juba as explained by the Governor. Another advantage of Wau over Juba is that, people there are more peaceful and hospitable compared to Juba. This means that people allow proper processing of plots and issuance of title deeds in a transparent way which is not the case in Juba. The Bari speakers and other Equatorians are the ones who connive to issue themselves and foreign magnates with land titles exclusively. This is how low nationalism has become in Equatoria.
Wau has learned from the shenanigans of Juba. Juba is a place of shifting sands. The 1980s Kokora and the post CPA contention of central and state governments over a piece of land called Juba. A scenario where every government wants to outmanoeuvre the other over land without regard to the law is surely untenable. It is therefore; fair to say that this stalemate over Juba is a result of lack of leadership in a strong personality at both levels of the government.
Governor Rizik is there to correct this misunderstanding over Juba. He has what it takes to move beyond Juba crisis. First of all, he is the first Governor to sequestrate the State headquarters from the County headquarters. He managed to move two County headquarters which were in Wau to Bagari and Nyinakok, something impossible anywhere in the whole of South Sudan. He overcame both procrastination and protest in the County headquarters.
Based on this, Governor Rizik may be in a position to move the State headquarters away from Wau as soon as the proposal is accepted by the government and the people of South Sudan.
Benefits of hosting the Capital (main)
Provides ready market for local goods and services
Many services to citizens in the area e.g. security
Employment of local people in public and private sectors
The myopic people of Juba and by extension of Equatoria failed to see these advantages over the rest of the country.
Viability of the proposal
Juba was not at the level it is now before 2005. It was at the level of Wau and Malakal by the virtue of being one of provincial capitals in the Southern Region. However, its status was greatly elevated after 2005 because it not only became headquarters of semi-autonomous region but also became the capital for independent South Sudan. More or less the same applies to the other cities in the country.
Governor Rizik’s proposal is in line with taking development to other less developed areas in South Sudan. The development we see in Juba today can be taken to Wau in the form of capital transfer from Juba-to-Wau-to-Ramciel.
The issue of resources can easily be addressed in many ways. The petrodollars are there to assist the transfer. There are also the donor funds for development as well as that of the business community. There is nothing to lose in this scenario because it all goes for one thing, development of South Sudan.
It is not only South Sudan that moved its capital from one region to another. It happens all over the world for reasons such as ours. The issues of limited land, strategy and other risks are the reasons for doing so. In many cases, the transfer is but for the benefit of the whole nation.
The proposal governor Rizik put forward and taken at the face value is a gesture of patriotism. He saw that the government and people of South Sudan were stuck over Juba for simple solvable thing called land. South Sudan has abundant land with relatively low population compared to other countries in the region.
The quarrel over land should only be heard from East Africa but not South Sudan. South Sudan’s population density is only 13 people per square kilometre. The countries of East Africa have over a hundred people per square kilometre.
It is therefore, advisable for people of this country to share all the resources including land amicably without segregation. This is what the people of Western Bhar El Ghazal espoused.
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