The Arrogance and Intransigence of SPLM-IO in Yirol May Derail the Revitalized Peace Agreement
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The Arrogance and Intransigence of Yirol West County IO Members May Collapse the Agreement
By Makoi Mayen Chienggan, Juba, South Sudan
Monday, June 07, 2021 (PW) — Let me begin by disclaiming that I do not have a personal vendetta against the SPLM IO as a political entity nor against the individuals who are tasked with leading it. If anything, my imagination is captured by their clarion call for reforms, the entrenchment of the rule of law, and democracy.
I am nonetheless deeply perturbed and dismayed by the arrogance, intransigence, and unruliness thus far being exhibited by some misguided, bigoted members of the SPLM IO in Yirol West County. Yirol West County has been in the news for all the wrong reasons, thanks to the unruliness of IO members. If one of them is not openly insulting their state Party Chairman, then the other one is making unpopular administrative policies or decisions.
For starters, Yirol West County is predominantly a red county, just as every county in Lakes State is. When the R-ARCSS was signed in September 2018, there was an article that gave the parties their quotas in the soon-to-be reconstituted government of national unity which was dubbed “responsibility sharing” which cascaded this time round even to the local government. It was against this background that Yirol West County Commissioner post was allocated to SPLM IO. It is worth mentioning that Cueibet and Rumbek Central Counties were allocated to SPLM IO and SSOA respectively.
Fortunately or unfortunately, it is Yirol West County that has been having issues. The social media have been awash with such stories. This is so because the IO members there think they have the absolute power to do whatever they like. They have been engaged in shouting matches and running battles with almost everyone for the last three months they took over.
In their minds, it is either their way or the highway. There is no person they have not yet insulted so far. They are the only ones who have got brains, gone to the best schools and it is only they and they alone who can reform this county. They brag a lot about their command of the English language and can insult and ridicule whoever they feel has weak command of the language. As if English is the mother tongue in Yirol!
They have no qualms about the revered “traditional authority”. They think the chiefs should bow before them and worship them. They don’t even interact with other people now. Everyone else is treated with contempt. Most important, most of the decisions are taken over a bottle of beer. Majority of them have a hidden agenda; which is to punish the general populace for still supporting the other principal party to the agreement. It is not that I hold brief for the SPLM nor is it that SPLM is a saint in this case. It is only that I feel obliged to say facts as they are.
Having walked you through some of their misdeeds, I doubt if you still wonder why there is so much apathy towards the IO members in Yirol West and why their man occupying the highest seat in the county is being “sabotaged”, as they claim, by all and sundry?
Let me digress. When did these self-professed faithful of IO join the party and do they really understand the agenda of the party?
To answer this pertinent question, it is important to note that majority of them were staunch members of the SPLM and had held important positions before they fell out of favor with the party. Majority of Yirol West IO members joined the IO party in February 2020, when it was all but clear that there were positions to be had, perks to take such as accommodation in posh hotels, money to be made and raw power to be wielded.
Almost all Yirol West IO members have jobs so far. Those who couldn’t land cushy jobs have all resigned. That goes to show they were in the Movement for money. Once you remove the money factor, they would all be gone. None of them had the guts to join that movement in 2013 and 2016, when there was a war to be fought.
Instead, majority of them were faithful parrots of the ruling party and even went as far as openly and scathingly attacking the Dr. Riek’s Movement. You can check out their social media handles. If this is not opportunism, I do not know what else is.
In an uncanny manner, these are the same people that lecture us on the rule of law, human rights, pluralistic government, and what not. Why didn’t they practice these when they had the power and the authority to do so? What difference will it make now that they have only changed the parties?
Here is a million dollar question. Do you believe such dyed-in-the wool SPLM IO members – who are in the IO for positions, money and perhaps even women – can bring about any meaningful change and win more souls for the party?
I believe not. Rather, these members are making their party more unpopular and more hated by the general public. You don’t win people over with arrogance and ” holier than thou” attitude.
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