What are the Key Actors and Institutions of the Transitional Government of National Unity–TGONU, (Part 1)?
By David Mayen Ayarbior, Juba, South Sudan
June 12, 2016 (SSB) — South Sudan is currently at the crossroads of transition from an undesirable state to, hopefully, a new prosperity. Make no mistake, it is going to be a very difficult period of sociopolitical change which will require the efforts of so many patriots, yet some actors will be preconditioned to be at the peripheries of the transition to democracy and true socialism. And even if they see themselves as representing the majority victimized citizens and deeply embedded in the society, the current undesirable structure of our state dictates that they shall not be able to play any central role. In the same breath, because of the status quo, some institutions and political actors could be more essential in the transition than others.
The status quo is that the country had all but almost collapsed, hundreds of thousands of victims including women and children are still stranded in UNMISS Protection of Civilians Camps (POCs) with inadequate schooling or medical care, while millions are still displaced both internally and in neighboring countries. The social fabric of our country has been violently shattered beyond recognition by the civil war and it will not take less than a decade for true fixing to be effected. Moreover, our country is by far one of the most militarized in Africa.
Now, against that miserable backdrop, what would any rational thinker define the word “transitional” in the acronym TGoNU to mean? Where do we want our country to transition from and where do we want it to transition to? Who possess the real institutional power to effect that transition? There are so many such questions that need answers for citizens to get assurance that their already miserable living condition would not be made worse when militarized political campaigns start soon in 2018.
An all-encompassing answer to the questions above could be that our country aspires to transition from a highly disintegrated and militarized state into a civilian run highly disciplined democratic socialist welfare state. Surely, transitioning from the current state of militancy to peaceful political interaction will take so much foundational work on the part of controllers of the state. At this stage, the collegial decision making process at the presidency level and to a lesser significance Council of Minsters resolutions, the military, judiciary, and potentially the legislature shall have the strongest bearing on the shape and outcome of that desired transition to a peaceful welfare state. History will barely judge or remember the name of ministers, generals or MPs, hence most of the essential historic decisions to be ought to be made by the trilogy at the Presidency and passed down for execution. At this stage, head of state leadership is essential before collective good faith execution is undertaken.
Any argument that “we are all the government” and “we all should play our part” is misplaced rhetoric. What part could the majority citizens and hundreds of thousands of IDPs and refugees play in bringing sustainable transition to peace in South Sudan? Nothing. They are the victims who need to be given back what remains from their pre-war lives and, thus, should not be rhetorically asked to play any part. What essential part will civil society organizations (CSOs) play in the transition? Little to insignificant. In absence of a revolutionary middle class that is conscious of its duties and rights, it would be bordering on abdication of responsibility for government to ask the people (represented by CSOs) for any essential role to play, especially in such a highly charged and militarized political environment. They (CSOs) could only organize peaceful government sanctioned rallies here and there, or publish a few papers on controversial issues of governance, yet that will not affect the process of accountability, demilitarization and DDR in any way-shape-or form.
Generals (real ones) in the military will have a major role to play. Of course, the definition of generals in South Sudan does not stop at true generals like it is worldwide. It also includes dangerous village guerrillas, bandits and unknown criminals who always demanded for that rank in exchange for stopping their banditry and criminal activities against the state. But in this article I mean real experienced generals who understand military formations and the meaning of every word in the acronym DDR. They will have an essential role to play as key executors of political decisions.
The National Legislature and Judiciary could also play an important part in the transition, but that is only if they become non-partisan. I mean non-partisan when it comes to debating transitional issues of demilitarization, good governance, peaceful coexistence, and economic stabilization. MPs should be nationalistic free thinking humans when it comes to debating and resolving over those existential issues. The First Parliament in post 2005 (where I diligently served as Director for Legislation and acted as Legal Advisor for some considerable time) proved that it can be done. It was constituted by well selected intellectuals (almost 80 percent) and its non-partisanship was admired by African countries and the entire world, including our adversaries. It was a true nationalistic parliament led by the current VP (then Hon. Speaker Igga) with very strong and intellectually sophisticated MPs. There is no reason why the current “transitional” legislature (to be constituted soon) should not play its oversight role effectively – may be except for lack of capacity of over 50 percent of its members who were not selected because of merit.
The Judiciary will be in a very difficult situation to enforce transitional justice. So far, it has shown itself to be satisfactorily non-partisan. They say Lawyers are among the most hard-headed and principled human beings in the world. The rigorous training and positive brainwashing they go through in studying law may be unmatched by any other discipline in the field of humanities and social studies. If our judiciary is purged of the few who regrettably did not internalize the meaning of justice, I am sure it will be at the heart of transition in the coming few years.
Mayen Ayarbior has a Bachelor Degree in Economics and Political Science from Kampala International University (Uganda), Masters in International Security from JKSIS-University of Denver (USA), and Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from the University of London. He is the author of “House of War (Civil War and State Failure in Africa) 2013” and currently the Press Secretary/ Spokesperson in the Office of South Sudan’s Vice President, H.E. James Wani Igga. You can reach him via his email address: mayen.ayarbior@gmail.com.
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