Democracy versus the Recycling of unwanted Governors in South Sudan
By Malith Alier, Perth, Australia
Wednesday, January 23, 2019 (PW) — According to “Hot in Juba” news, we read that the governors of Western Lakes and Tonj States, Hon. Matur Chut and Anthony Bol Madut have been relieved, at least for now from their gubernatorial positions by Kiir for undisclosed reasons. The veteran governors are old time generals in the Sudan People’s liberation Army (SPLA) which is also the predecessor of the South Sudan Defence Forces (SSDF).
Anthony Bol Madut was rumoured to be a commander in Anyanya II which joined the SPLA in 1983. During our days in Dima, Ethiopia, Anthony headed Buma (Boma) up to the time of signing peace in 2005 after which he became the first governor of former Warrap State. Matur Chut on the other hand, was in the army until they were retired after independence. He became the governor of Lakes State replacing Daniel Aweet Akot. This is his second stint after the division of former Lakes in to Gok State, Western and Eastern Lakes States.
There are only two enduring governors after the 2010 elections. They make up the 20% of the former 10 states replicated in December 2015. Louise Lobong Lojore of former Eastern Equartoria and Rizik Zakaria Hassan of former Western Bar el Ghazal are the two right hand men that Kiir’s perennial decrees never touched. Despite the redivivision of the ten states, they got appointments to the new states of Kapoeta and Raja.
A bit of conspiracy has it that Louise Lobong presides over a vast area of Kapoeta, full of gold and cattle wealth. It’s the least literate state. As such, Louise is the lifeline to the powers that might be in Juba. Gold is the unexplored commodity in the area and it informally feeds the kleptocrats with little to no scrutiny of some sort. Therefore, it’s wise to keep things under the carpet as long as possible.
Apart from the two governors above, recycling of other governors is widespread and systematic before and after independence. The same thing is true of County Commissioners who are usually appointed by the incoming governors as their political people.
The Constitution
According to the 2011 Constitution, all the governors, Commissioners and other local government vacancies are directly elected by the people. The same constitution allows the president to remove governors only when there exists a threat to national security in the respective state. The election to replace the relieved governor must be organised within six (60) days. Very clear as the sun above! Governors have been arbitrarily dismissed and replaced at will in violation of the constitution for several years now with no end insight.
Role of the SPLM
The parliament of the country is stuffed of unquestioning SPLM members elected in 2010 to assemblies in Juba and Khartoum. When the country got independence, some members who lost their constituencies as a result of separation were lumped in the assembly in Juba where they’re a voice to no one but themselves and the one who keeps them there.
The Civil war
in 2013 war broke out in the country as a result of disagreement in the ruling SPLM party. The three factions held out over the chairmanship. There emerged in the party, accusations of dictatorship and tribalism as a result of failure of internal party democracy. Riek and Kiir factions faced off militarily while Pagan faction lingers on the sidelines.
South Sudan as we speak has no quick exit from this quagmire. We’ll remain glued to pre-independence period at in terms of democracy. Our situation is not helped by neighbours who are closely feigning friendship to us but are not true democracies. Sudan and Uganda have long term rulers who are only interested in retaining power at all cost to the detriment of their people. Political suppression is the norm in these countries.
further down the line, democracy will not come from outside. The people of the country will demand for it in order to materialise. In 1992, Kenya which was under Moi dictatorship for 24 years demanded for multiparty democracy and it won. We see how Kenya fares now. KANU the liberation movement is no more. No one dares to talk about it any longer. That is a warning to liberation movements who dare not to change and adapt to new conditions in their countries.
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