Oath of Office: Remarks by H.E. Vice President Rebecca Nyandeng de Mabior

H. E. Salva Kiir Mayardit, the President of the Republic of South Sudan.

H. E. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, President of the Republic of Uganda.

H.E. Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan of the Republic of Sudan and Chairman of IGAD.

H.E. The First Vice President, Dr. Riek Machar Teny, of the Republic of South Sudan.

H.E. David Mabuza, Deputy President of the Republic of South Africa.

H.E. Stephen Kalonzo (Representing Special Envoys)

Your Excellencies and my colleagues the (FOUR) Vice Presidents, of the Republic of South Sudan.

Your Excellencies Distinguish Guests.

Members of the Diplomatic Corp.

Members of the Press.

Saturday, February 22, 2020 (PW) — To the citizens of our great Republic, mainly the internally displaced, those stranded at the IDP’s camps, to you who left to seek refuge in the neighboring countries, and our citizens in the diaspora, I say Greetings to you all in the name of PEACE. Over the last seven years, You, the people of South Sudan, have been resilient in your desire for peace, and today you have it by the grace of God.  

On April, 9th 2019, the world witness how God love the people South Sudan when he led the leaders of this country to his Alter at the Vatican and allowed us to pray in fellowship with his Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury Justine Webley, Former Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland Rev. Dr. John P. Chalmers, and the Holy Father Pope Francis of the Catholic Church. Your holiness, God has answered your prayers, and peace has come to South Sudan.

My fellow South Sudanese, From 1955-2005, the price for our freedom has been high, in the valleys of this vast lands, from the swarm land of Greater Upper Nile and Bar El Ghazal, to the slope mountains of Greater Equatoria, lies the bones and flesh of our heroes, including our founding Father Dr. John Garang de Mabior. I honored their sacrifices and spirit.  

And to the SPLM/SPLA veterans across this country or wherever they might be today, I honored you in the name of South Sudan.

I am addressing you today for the first time as one of the Vice President brought in this position by the Revitalized Peace Agreement on the Resolution to the conflict in South Sudan. Over the last seven years, the people of this potentially great country have endured unimaginable suffering. So many young lives were cut short, and others will forever suffer from severe traumatic stress caused by the 2013 conflict.

To preserve the peace and Unity in this country, we must achieve moral recovery, and repair the broken social fabric amongst our people. Every South Sudanese must honestly admit to his or her neighbor, certain things we have done to each other for us to go forward. Let us stop the vitriolic words against each other and turn the wheels of our history toward the future.

Although these are the most segregated times in our young country history, we must, in the spirit of peace today, unite together and move forward as one people.  To do so will require every citizen to support this government, point out leadership shorts falls, and work with open hearts so we can all redirect the way forward for this nation.

If we ask the question of why we have not achieved anything in this country, you will find it is because we have not unleashed the individual genius of our citizens. We have failed as your leaders and brought to you this unnecessary war.

But this time, we as leaders must assure freedom, justices, and human dignity to each citizen of this country and gives space to our citizens so they can join human race in technological ingenuity, and above all, infrastructure development.

We must understand that the engine of economic growth is you the citizens of South Sudan, and that require your government to create a conducive environment where each of you can farms, start a business, and go to school without fear for your lives.  

In this new beginning, we must pledge to win the war against poverty, tribalism, and corruption to grantee a better future for our children and grandchildren.

Every South Sudanese knows that the struggles lead by my dear husband, Dr. John Garang, and the SPLM was won because of moral courage and desire to be free. SPLM was not paying its soldiers to fight the war; they sacrifice for you the young generation of today and tomorrow.

Statesmanship is a weapon-free citizen use to get involved in the governance’s affairs in their own country. So, I encourage all young people of this nation to sacrifices in the pursuit of peaceful coexistent and become champion against tribalism. Let the nation-building begin with you in your house and your neighborhood. Make friends with people who are from other communities to create a society of equal brotherhoods and sisterhood.

For us to achieve Dr. John’s vision for you, I urge you to have a resurgent of renewed national pride grounded in your love for the country above your tribe. Let us all celebrate this peace and work to create democratic values through a spirit of love, friendship, and one people. 

So today, we must all adopt a new creed by these words from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., “Use me, God, show me how to take who I am, who I want to be, and what I can do and use it for a purpose greater than myself.”

Thank you, and may God bless South Sudan….

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