“Give Caesar what belongs to Caesar”: Why 28 States are the only price to the people of South Sudan
6 min readBy Deng Lual DeNuun, ELDORET-KENYA
‘Take time to be, to feel, to listen to the stories, dreams and thoughts of those who have no voice.
They’re wounded for the want of being listened to:
They cry,
And too few hear;
They slowly die;
And too few mourn.’
Kate Compton, ‘Seeds of hope’
January 11, 2016 (SSB) — Before I dive further into, I’d like to register and applauded the sober, Africanism and diplomatically approach engineered by the chairperson of the JMEC in the person of former Botswana President Festus Mogae (to be nicknamed in South Sudan as Festus Magai) should he happen to make miracles and have peace agreement implemented to the later and for taking a stand and let go the debate on the 28 states and digested it to the best interest of the people of the republic of South Sudan although not in the peace agreement. Thank you Sir! I think you are convinced that this is the popular demand by the grassroots hence give Caesar what belongs to Caesar.
The recent reception of Jonglei state Governor in Bor with happy giggling of children, enchanting and ululations of women in happiness or the other and with defense Minister dancing to his best reminding him of his 20s signifies that the creation of these states can once again paints a smile. Indeed, it is still possible to implement the agreement even within the 28 states to the ratios of the peace partners which is basically confined to greater upper Nile region and few potholes in other states. This will be upon the states to share power if there exists an opposition in that particular state hence it isn’t a big issue and we urge you to elaborate this further to the Africa Union. And to those waiting for the revocation of the decision, sorry! Even those oppose to the very regime have seen the need for and mind you, Rome wasn’t built in a day! I wonder folks oversea wants South Sudan to be like the US overnight, impossible but patience pays. Please support the newly created states by all means and cease speaking in foreign tongues!
All things grow with time-except grief; which means as time goes by, grief subsides little by little. The recent creation of 28 states is painting a smile and a relieve from the grief in the face of many South Sudanese on ground with others with different spectacles glanced at it as ethnically division of South Sudan when it was naturally, geographically and in ancient settlement divided but didn’t affect its diversity and the desires to become a nation that we did achieved. The problem is not location or the people but the bad leadership powered by those who have been in power. See, the neighboring countries are in harmony despite their integration into states or regions. In Kenya for example, the 47 counties are ethnically made up but Kenya remains the powerhouse economy and democracy in the East Africa region, why is South Sudan an exception?, even in the United States which is made up of more than 50 states are at some points can be identified to certain nationalities but American still remains the world superpower.
I know, many minds may beg to ask how sustainable are the 28 states but the same minds may fail to answer how viable were the 10 states? The answer to these questions is to have SPLM as ruling party comes to its senses and demonstrates skillful leadership to the people of South Sudan. Devolution of powers and decentralization of resources will be the best cheque to the people of South Sudan, and not just that, we need more than 50% of the national budget going to the states and therefore to the counties. Wondering where the resources shall come from, of course, the great human resource when utilized well and the abundant natural resources couple by political will and the peaceful coexistence, no doubt that once again South Sudan can resurrect from the graveyard that the SPLM was blindly resting it. It is not flabbergasting that the ruling party is awake and has widened its eyes and realized indeed they were almost to the graveyard, ‘Maburuk Allekum’, but that is not enough, the victims to this man made war still stares at you, what are you going to do? Let not accountability be just a sorry and apologies otherwise criminals do not benefit from their actions because crime doesn’t pay.
Some folks have expressed their insights but they turn to forget that these are the same bullies who were in power that are now fighting and eventually reconciling, they signed what I would correctly called as THE COMPRESSIVE POSITIONS ALLOCATION (CPA-2) although disguised as compromised peace agreement, which basically talks of which side to take this and that and why is it a noise when power and resources are stream down to the grassroots?, you have seen the investment they have done, some invested in vehicles and luxurious stuffs, some to have big bullies and hence all their wealth ends up in their stomach with some dead only with their bullies no apartments. At least now an orphan in the village can be a watchman in a clinic or government office in his Boma, a widow to be a cleaner and many more positions and other services since now the focus is hand to mouth. I’m pretty confident that these states in the next ten years shall restore the lost hope given interests expressed by its citizens. The focus now shall be to develop best national constitution.
Finally, in his words, Prime Minister Golda Meir’s Jewish New Year Message 1971 in the Seventies and the Yom Kippur War. ‘I remember in the bitter days of the Holocaust somebody asked me, “What revenge can there be?” and I replied, “We will build something of such moral value, something of such human decency and dignity that all the people who throughout the ages hated and persecuted us will come to our doors to learn from us”. The reunification of the SPLM party is a relieve to many and God forbid, let it not be a notion most expressed by citizens of South Sudan that, “SPLM LOOTS WHEN UNITED AND KILLS ITS CITIZENS WHEN DIVIDED”
Eventually, this quote wraps up ‘You, who are Gentiles by birth…, Excluded from citizenship in Israel, without hope and without God in the world…now have been brought near through the blood of Christ. For He himself is our peace, who has made the two one and had destroyed the barriers, the dividing wall of hostility’. Ephesians 2:11:15. January 9th will go down in history of South Sudan crown by its atmosphere and its peaceful nature. We looking forward to the SPLM to let the citizens’ bear the fruits of this peace otherwise we……
“Say no to peace,
If what they mean by peace”
Is the quiet misery of hunger,
The frozen stillness of fear,
The silence of broken spirits,
The unborn hopes of the oppressed.
Tell them that peace
Is the shouting of children at play,
The babble of tongues set free,
The thunder of dancing feet,
And a father’s voice singing
Mr. Deng Lual DeNuun, the author can be reached via Facebook account: Deng Lual DeNuun.
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