Riding on Old bandwagon, Capt. Mabior Garang Came to Sacrifice on Juba Political Altar

By Malith Alier, Kalgoorlie, Australia

Sunday, November 14, 2021 (PW) – Soporific we have become of late that national events, bad or good, do not matter much. Lack of dreaming entered the national psyche went the country went to war years ago. Some people voluntary left for exile. Some were forced to leave by the prevalent circumstances. The common denominator for both was the political situation that seems to deteriorate every day.

South Sudan is currently implementing a peace agreement that had acquired a pace of a tortoise. In this 2018 latest agreement, three months’ work becomes 9 months’ worth of work. A three-year action may well take over six years. That is the fastest the country moves in the implementation of the peace agreements.

Not much was known about the young Garang’s visit to his country of birth after resigning his government position a year or so ago. His extant news conference did not disclose much either. Instead, we received the news that apologies were made to the sitting president and the ruling party. That social media was full of contraction of what he mindlessly said against the country’s perpetual leader. Of course, these claims came after the secret re-entry and lowkey reception by the head of the state’s spokesman.

Then the National Conversations South Sudan, NCSS, was born. The young faces corralled by the famous son of the soil to break the news to the public formed part of the greater movement to free the country from a clique spearheaded by autocrats. Though NCSS was said to be an NGO registered in South Sudan, it is akin to Red Card, People’s Coalition for Civil Action and the like. The difference is that NCSS is disguised pending evolution to emerge years ahead into a full pledge political entity. It is a matter of time.

And here is a bombshell: the former Deputy Minister of Interior claimed that he dislikes politics. Really? It is not a Damascus moment. If he at all, dislikes politics he should have not joined SPLM IO after the 2013 eruption of conflict. The IO assigned him a political office of Information as Chair. He became Minister of Water and Irrigation after 2015 peace agreement.

The fact of the matter is that he didn’t resign because he is not in favour of politics. He resigned because he cited a lack of implementation of the peace agreement. True. The peace agreement was stuck on paper as if by glue. Critical stages of implementation like the unified forces failed to graduate even after years in the training fields. The kitgwang faction of the SPLM IO declared a violent takeover of the party from Riek Machar.

The Revitalised government of national unity ministers are not faring any better. Ministers had and continue to fall by the wayside. Henry Odwar, the minister of Mining resigned from the government. Minister Odwar was purported to have joined the Kitgwang faction of Gatwich Dual. Other ministers had faced the sack but equally returned to the cabinet in the same fashion. Two ministers in the office of the president were sacked in quick succession.

One of them returned to head the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Kiir’s wieldy and restless decrees have also taken a toll on some ministries and other government institutions this week. A day or two ago, the ministers of Finance and Interior were axed for reasons undisclosed as reminiscent of thousand other decrees since the interim period. A former Managing Director of Nilepet was recycled weeks earlier.

COVID -19 had exposed not only the government but also the system that sustains it. A presidential Advisor, actually a super minister, who had acquired the right to head every delegation that goes outside the country travelled to Qatar. He led an advanced team for a presidential visit to the gulf country. And before the advanced team could embark on the basics of the visit, the members were tested for the COVID-19 virus. The minister of Foreign Affairs tested positive. The Minister of Investment subsequently returned positive results and had to join his colleague in a quarantine lodge.

Political rot permeates the highest echelons of the state. It is possible to get a tramped up “negative result” in South Sudan but not in Qatar. South Sudan and Qatar are as far as east from west. Standards and procedures in South Sudan are very low. In fact, the bar is too low anyone can fly over it and receive a gold trophy.

Many years ago, I had a relative who wanted to travel to East Africa. This was before South Sudan officially joined EAC. The relative in question like many other travellers to Kenya was required to have a valid yellow fever vaccination card. They tried their best to get vaccinated in real-time. It is very hard to be upright in a crooked system. The system enablers advised them to just get their card without receiving the vaccine for yellow fever.

They obliged and paid the seasoned operators for their unscrupulous service. On another occasion, someone I know wanted to travel to Kenya but this time it was a mere test for the COVID-19 virus that was required. The same middlemen appeared and claimed that they had the ability to issue a straight negative result minus the actual test being carried out. A bargain price was dangled to make it attractive to bypass the covid-19 clinics.

Professor Nyamlel Wakoson, the former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, circa 2015 government once diagnosed the problem of South Sudan in a stark fashion. He identified that something was rotten to the core in the country. His treatment for this frank diagnostic was a summary dismissal. He was sent to political wilderness not to be seen again.

This is in direct contrast to those who steal millions of US Dollars from the government. This category of politicians almost always finds their way back to the system they cheat. On the other hand, those who point out the wrong have no second chance.

Welcome to New Sudan of Justice, Liberty and Prosperity!

The author, Malith Alier, is a concerned South Sudanese Australian public intellectual and political commentator who can be reached via his email address: alierjokdeng@gmail.com

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