South Sudan: The Impact of Incompetent Government on Social Cohesion and National Integrity

By Francis M. Malwal, Houston, Texas, USA

Saturday, June 13, June 2020 (PW) — South Sudan can be divided into two main categories; people with integrity and people without integrity. People with integrity behaviors are guided by principles and values they don’t compromise under any circumstance.

Their respect for the laws is not because of punishment fear but due to intrinsic beliefembedded in their soul. So they follow their conscious even when laws or competent governments don’t exist. 

On the other hand, people without integrity can be subdivided into two subcategories; people who fear punishment and those who don’t. First of all, people who fear punishment behaviors are determined by the existent and absence of competent government.

Meaning that if there is a responsible government, they will abide by the laws due to their fear of punishment. In other words, if there is a competent government, they would behave in a similar way to those with integrity.

However, when there is an incompetent government, their behavior would change immediately and commit crimes. So their behavior significantly depends on the availability of competent government. 

Secondly, people without integrity, who don’t fear punishment, also known as a criminal. This category broke the law regardless of the existence or absence of a competent government. It represents a small portion of an ideal society, and they mirror the people with integrity. 

Furthermore, the competent government enacts laws and builds institutions that will implement the rules and maintain security and orders. The existence of such a government affects the behavior of society.

For example, society behaviors shift toward integrity when people without integrity who fear punishment join those with integrity, and they become the majority in society. 

While those people without integrity who don’t fear punishment (criminal) become a minority, it is an ordinarysituation that exists in many countries that have a competent government. 

In contrast, the incompetent government may enact laws but failed to build institutions that are capable of enforcing the rules. In this scenario, the society behaviors shifted toward criminal when people without integrity who fear punishment joined those without integrity who fear no punishment.

Hence they becomethe majority in society. An excellent example of this is our current situation in South Sudan. This chaotic situation is similar to the condition before the advent of government, known as lawless (anarchic) society. 

In an anarchic society, each entity protects itself from other members of society. Or in the situation of South Sudan, each community protect themselves from neighboring hostile community.

Due to the absence of the competent government, the community resorts to defending itself from neighboring community aggression through the formation of voluntarily community protection forces (CPF); such as the white army, Murle youth, Bor Youth, GealWeng, Doutco Bai, and ArwoBoys) to filled the security gap created by the absence of competent government. 

The primary objective of the CPF was to provide security and protect the resources of that particular community. However, since nobody is paying their wages, they resorted to raiding any valuable resources from hostile villages.

So they killed and plundered resources such as cattle like in areas of Bor, Lou Nur, Warap, and Lakes State as well as abducting children in Jonglei and Abyei area. In a few cases, some CPF burn villages.

Although some people with integrity in the community might object to such activities, they failed to stop the CPF from pursuing their interest. The CPF may threaten people who are against their criminal acts or threaten to cease from providing security to the community in protest of questioning their illegal activities.

Eventually, those with integrity will give up under such circumstances, and the crime continues.

Moreover, South Sudan’s rural area has been characterized by the absence of government even during the former Sudan. As a result, most communities protect themselves using traditional African weapons such as spears, which usually made of iron and wood.

The scale of fighting between communities was very limited in the eighties due to primitive weaponry. However, with the influx of automatic gun machine and the weakness of organized force to control their stores and corrupt generals. They used their authority to smuggle heavy machine guns and ammunition to their respective communities.

Former Sudan militia and Massiyria have also contributed to the inter-communal conflict. The later has been devastating Abyei Area and Aweil for quite a long time.  

Besides, the scale of the destruction in the form of resources and lives has increased significantly. According to BBC, more than 800 people are believed to have died since February 2020 in Jonglei State. Also, dozens of homes were destroyed, warehouse belonging to aid groups were raided; women and cattle were abducted. 

Jonglei has been the hot spot of inter-communal conflict since 2011. The government has utterly failed to address these issues. Even the division of Jonglei into Bor, Boma, Akobo, and Fangak states that was meant to resolve the conflict has too failed. 

The absence of competent government has permitted people without integrity, who fear punishment to join people without integrity, who don’t fear punishment (criminal).

As a result of these collations, they become the majority in society. Also, it has created security vacant that encourage communities to form community protection forces to protect themselves and their resources.

The weakness of organized forces to control their guns and ammunition stores and corrupt generals who smuggle automatic gun machines and ammunition to their respective communities has continued fueling the conflict. 

In conclusion, the primary solution for the ongoing inter-communal conflict is a competent government that is capable of restoring society normalcy in which people with integrity are the majority.

Also, able to introduce strict measures in terms of controlling guns and ammunitions stores and holding corrupt generals accountable for any wrongdoing. Also, add security and enforce law and order impartially to all South Sudanese communities. ​

The Author, Francis M. Malwal, B.Pharm, M.Pharm, FPGEC, is a South Sudanese based in Houston, Texas, USA; Former head department of Pharmacology, University of Juba, College of Medicine. He is also a Chairman of Establishment Committee, African’s National Party and can be reached via his email:francismalwal@gmail.com 

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