Open Letter to H.E. Gen. Taban Deng Gai, First Vice President of South Sudan
By James Thon Atem, Juba, South Sudan
Thursday, August 09, 2018 (PW) — Let me start with a quote of Mr. Roy Bennet “Good leaders have vision and inspire others to help them turn vision into reality. Great leaders have vision, share vision, and inspire others to create their own” I hope this open letter will reach to your hand.
Your Excellency, I would like to congratulate you for three reasons, one, you have highly demonstrated to be a man of peace, i believe the little history you have created will continue to live for generations. Secondly, your quest for reunification of the party-SPLM I.O to rejoin the SPLM mainstream is also another prove that you have a vision and a mission to serve as a legacy, “Legends are not born but they’re made” in this regard you’re one now.
Third, your recent statement on the ongoing peace negotiations with the armed opposition of Dr. Riek Machar and other opposition parties is a prove that you’re not after positions, if the intention is to buy peace with positions. You have joined Dr. James Wani Igga in the list of inspirational leaders who do not mind about positions but rather the cherished vision and mission of nation building.
On that note, the masses are more than convinced that you can actually deliver to them in the grass roots. And with the political maturity you are displaying, without doubt the masses are counting on you in the Greater Upper Nile Region and South Sudan at large.
Your Excellency, as you have emerged to be the new powerful man in the Greater Upper Nile Region, there are a lot of outstanding issues to admire which I believe our pervious great men and women failed to address during their time of reign. They had kept the entire region in the wilderness, not only in the ideology of war and conflicts but leaving the region with a very high rate of illiteracy and ignorance. I think the following points represent their true political dimensions.
The continuous rise of unrealistic, non-objective rebellions in the greater Upper Nile Region; your Excellency, you’re also a witness of this, since you were once a governor of Greater Unity State. We have acted parallel not just of recent but since in the beginning of the struggle. We have setback our fellow brothers and sisters from other regions of South Sudan during the war of liberation struggle numerously. This ideology has put us in a wrong position not just that but it has brought a very serious devastation to our people.
Issues of cattle raiding and child abduction especially in the greater Jonglei; this practice have been there for so long and of recent you were delegated by the presidency to spearhead the committee to mediate a peace between Dinka Bor community and Murrle community, your facts finding and solutions report is being keenly awaited with anticipation. This community conflict has left many families in grief and suffering from the evil act in the hands of their fellow countrymen.
This act has also happened between the Lou Nuer community and the Murrle community. Both scenarios have caused devastating damages to human lives and properties in the Greater Jonglei. We seek for a permanent solution to this evil and primitive act of our people through your office your Excellency.
Complete disarmament of youth and establishment of youth recreational facilities; yes, many attempts have been made to eliminate firearms in the hands of illiterate youths but those attempts failed miserably to achieve its final purpose or aim. The reason is, there are other key fundamental aspects that the government is to put in place for the youths to willingly surrender their firearms.
These include the construction of schools, vocational training centers, hospitals, roads, bridges where applicable, youth centers to engage them in constructive competitions such as sports, music, dance and drama as well as establishment of adult education centers. These facilities will help those affected divert from violence and engage in constructive activities and contribute in the much-needed nation building.
Infrastructure: this is an essential sector serving the country, region, states and other areas, including service facilities necessary for its economy to work. Yes, little had been performed but more input is needed now. Your Excellency, our civil population of the Greater Upper Nile Region have been left far behind in infrastructure sector and this serves well as the reason for the persistence of the conflicts and the cattle raiding vices since the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in 2005 with Khartoum government.
This continuation of the conflicts in the region have denied smooth implementations of developmental projects such as schools, hospitals, roads, bridges and telecommunication networks among others and have led the entire region to be in constant need for reliefs regardless of it being the hub of the national prestigious wealth, the oil.
Community dialogue: this idea has worked in some communities because the main objective has been to build understanding and trust amongst the people who have been misled by greedy and bad leaders for their own interest well known to themselves. The indigenous communities of Greater Upper Nile have proved beyond reasonable doubt that they can’t leave together peacefully unless the above issues are addressed. Your Excellency, it’s not too late, you can deliver on the above areas of concern as the masses are looking up to you to address these numerous problems facing them.
Notwithstanding, your excellency the list of outstanding issues ultimately waiting for your attention is too long however, i believe implementing few of these narratives above will pave way for other citizens of this region to come up with more active ideas and help you to find permanent solutions for them.
The author is a concerned member of the Greater Upper Nile Region. He can be reached on thonatemayiei@gmail.com
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