A Call for Visionary Leadership: Open Letter to Governor Simon Ober Mawut on Transforming Northern Bahr El Ghazal

By Peter Athian Kur, Nairobi, Kenya       

Tuesday, 13 August 2024 (PW) — I have the great honour of writing this open letter to your high office, Your Excellency, about a number of challenges that need your support and guidance as a ray of hope for Northern Bhar El Ghazal State, Aweil. Let me begin by sincerely extending my revolutionary greetings to you and the entire Aweil community for the trust that the president has placed in you to serve as the first governor from Aweil Centre and as governor of the land (NBeG).

Due to the nature of our political ideology and the South Sudanese culture in political affairs, I hardly write to politicians on national matters. Please be patient as I go through this lengthy article to highlight some of the most important problems facing our state. I’m hoping you’ll be able to make your own judgements about the topic. I’m writing to you for a few basic reasons, some of which are related to the strategic intentions/direction you indicated in your speech to the Aweil community following your swearing-in ceremony in Juba.

The second essential reason is your wisdom and preparedness to bring Aweil together to work towards a common goal; in my opinion, you demonstrated your desire to achieve more and address the fundamental problems facing the state and its people, as well as a call for technocrats to support and serve the people of Aweil during this crucial time.

Your excellency, there are a plethora of expectations from the community and youth in particular about your appointment, and your reception during your official visit to Aweil is a magnificent signal about what people expect from you. The entire Aweil came to hear your key priorities as governor. In your first speech in Juba upon your swearing ceremony, you mentioned the key three targets, which I quote “As I go to Aweil as governor, I am fixated on only three main issues: Food security, security itself, and the Unity of the people of Northern Bahr El Ghazal State”.

These three key reasons prompted me to write this letter to you. In pursuit of your determination and blue print, I would like to voice my opinions in your leadership and categorically break it down how these thematic areas could succeed/ failed during the implementation process. I have seen your public speaking skills, which convinced me that you are the man for the job. Aweil is seen as one of the most peaceful states, but it is chaotic when you sit on that gubernatorial chair.

The first day you were appointed, you were called by hundreds of people, including phones that never called you when you were lobbying for this position, and everyone was giggling and celebrating about your appointment. These are recipes for the opportunity when you have succeeded, but bear in mind that the journey is about to begin.

Let me remind you these people don’t like you but they have attached their interest on you and NOT Aweil’s interest and in case you don’t fulfil their interest tomorrow you will fight them like never before. But if you are objective, exceptional and straight forward you will deliver.

Furthermore, I wanted to remind you once again of political opportunists who would be disappointed by your style of leadership and formation of government by sabotaging your leadership when you are doing well for your people. Good enough, you are aware of the political discombobulation that may set you back in Aweil, but you will manage to overcome your targets and plans during your tenure as governor.

We have seen how technocratic government like those of Hon. Kuel Aguer was being sabotaged by some elites, seeing Kuel thrive to serve Aweil’s people with all their needs. I wouldn’t want to bore you with all the notions and hear says everyone has their own birthday. However, I would like to dwell much more practically on the key areas of your priorities that you stated early.

Investment on Agriculture.

I’m very impressed by your desire to address the food security issue in Aweil. However, we try to address food insecurity without scientific approach, we will not cultivate hope for our people, who have been lacking modern technology in the agriculture sector without being supported by the technocratic government. For the Northern Bahr El Ghazal government to improve the economy through the agriculture industry, as you lamented, there must be a feasible plan to increase and encourage production locally.

I am convinced that the little resources we generate in the state can finance our agriculture sector if the fiscal year budget is allocated to agriculture as a priority. Below is what I think would improve the agriculture sector as you plan. 

• Arming methods – our farmers are still using the same farming methods and techniques used in the 90’s. Same crops, same farm tools, same farming methods, same variety, same strategy Over the last donkeys’ years, a lot of agricultural research has been done which could boast and improved agriculture inputs. This advanced knowledge in farming needs to be communicated to farmers in clear terms. Sorghum is no longer producing yield due to the change of climate therefore; our people should be shown example to shift to rice which is considered resilient even during the flooding season. This is where the services of agricultural extension officers come in handy. Kindly be the supervisor of the ministry of Agriculture and work with the competent minister (although am aware this position is being appointed by different political party) who have good qualification and experience in the area of agriculture. Remember the success of the leader are the people you bring closer to you. Think about it.

• Agriculture model farms – with the understanding that Agriculture is our key strength. The state government needs to set up agricultural model farms. Model farms help with education of farmers, offer testing grounds for agricultural extension officers on new technology, seeds, and potential crops that would thrive in our fertile soil. Lobby for more tractors from the presidency and national ministry to buy more tractors for your scheme projects. For example, if you cultivate 500,000 feddans in season in fertile soil of Aweil centre or Aweil rice scheme, we will be able to employ more than 2,000 local workers which would boast households’ income and increase the food security production in the state and reduce the hunger by 20% for the first trial.

• Farming water availability – our farmers are still relying on traditional rain patterns for farming. This poses risk either way, lack of rainfall, or excess rainfall. This approach to farming puts the livelihoods of farmers at risk with every farming season. Farmers need to transition to a mixed dependence on rain and harvested water. We have humanitarian partners who have bust skills on this and they are ready to partner and support. Seasonal farming provides income only during the harvest seasons, which are normally flooded with farm produce, yielding less prices for farmers due to supply and demand imbalances.

• Financing for farmers – transitioning from our traditional farming methods to modern ones will require capital for farmers. For example, if farmers wanted to dig water pans, they would have to pay for the labour and the lining of the water pans. The state government can create policies that encourage microfinance institutions to operate in the county, for example by providing insurance for their lending. Another use of financing is to backstop farmers during emergencies or cash needs.

Road infrastructure (Face of the State)

Your excellency, I don’t know whether your children go to school in Aweil, and if they do, kindly ask them about the conditions of the internal roads to schools and their surroundings. The internal roads within town remained in bad condition beyond repair during the rainy season. Even the smallest things we can afford do not require donors to do them for us. This is a really bad habit that has been tested in our DNA several times.

I wanted to challenge you on this project before you think of innovating county roads or other key projects in your planning. Please work on all the internal roads in Aweil. During the rainy season, there is mud everywhere, and motorbikes can’t move. Leave vehicles on most of the roads in town. I don’t want to talk about our children, who are always going to school when their uniforms are already dirty because of the poor road, inaccessibility due to water, and lack of drainage for the passage of water.

I hope you and the town mayor could work to maintain the internal roads from Malou-Awer, Maper Akot Mathiang, Gabat, and Hai Salam and other areas. These roads do not represent the image of Aweil well. Kindly do something about it. 

Land Survey

Currently, there are a high number of court cases in the high court, the ministry of land, and local courts regarding land ownership. There is no proper land system in place for managing land ownership data, and the land you bought with all the title deeds could be sold to another person (Let me say the land surveyors and staff are corrupt). There is an increasing number of land cases in NBeG. Moreover, it seems the judiciary and the ministry of land are making good money from these cases due to the economic hardship hitting the country.

I may not be surprised if big crimes like what is happening in Juba could replicate themselves if land prices appreciate in Aweil. You might be aware that there has been an ongoing land demarcation and re-demarcation of internal playgrounds and blocks for social gathering centres meant for community meetings by powerful and wealthy elites. The government has been silent about this critical issue. What does the law governing land say about this? 

The number of court cases in the high court, the ministry of land, and local courts regarding land ownership. There is no proper land system in place for managing land ownership data, and the land you bought with all the title deeds could be sold to another person. Thus, increasing number of land cases in NBeG. This is one of the threats to our security in the near future if not addressed now.

Town/city planning and design: Probably the municipality lacks a single engineer to facilitate the town design and routine monitoring of government projects. It’s unfortunate that the Ministry of Land has decided to survey each plot of 20×20 square metres, and you will understand what I am talking about here if you have a house in Aweil. We have enough land with a small population to occupy it, but land policy in Aweil has a series of questions to answer regarding this issue. Currently, you don’t have space for your children to play, park in your car, or garden. Why is the ministry limiting the land space? Yet we have enough land to occupy us?

What is the policy guiding this planning? I asked these questions because what I saw in Kwajok could be an example for us. It’s the best organised and well-surveyed town in South Sudan, and we should not continue to make more mistakes this time with thousands of engineers available. If the issue of the land is not addressed it will implicate insecurity which would be a big mess in our peaceful state. More importantly, there has been misappropriate of land survey by previous government in Apada, Udhaba and Waradhot and I hope you will need to gather enough information about the subject matter.

Peaceful co-existence and unity of our people. 

Your excellency, I believe you have a reason why unity and peaceful coexistence are paramount to a thriving society. Aweil has never experienced sectional and tribal divisions for the last couple of years, despite the political differences we may be engaged in our political affairs, and this has demonstrated our relationships and beyond to our neighbours.

However, significant records of violence have been recorded over the last four years, and this required your immediate attention to address these community conflicts because most of the issues we have today were created by the state government, which required the state government to address them amicably in line with the rule of law and respect for community rights. The previous government created a lot of illegal boundaries without procedural approval from the Council of States and State Parliament, including the annexation of some areas into municipalities.

I hope you will not make a mistake on this politically charged agenda without clear intentions for our people. People are nearly involved in conflict because of this illegal annexation, and Mading Aweil has been a peaceful home for all of us. If the municipality is that important, please let the respectful MPs raise a motion in parliament and discuss it openly and procedurally.

In nutshell of the above challenges, I would like to make some key recommendations to your government for better planning and implementation to your projects.

1. For your government to function well without sabotage, please, you need to work with competent people. As wise men have said, “If you meet with a wise man, don’t be competent with him. Collaborate with him and make use of his ideas, even if you differ ideologically.” In simple terms, don’t rush to form your government without identifying who is going to work with you to deliver more than expected. Always consult informed minds and think tankers to make use of their ideas to make your dream unique compared to previous leaders. You can never make it alone.

2. Avoid frequent visits to Juba: save money, always use economy tickets, and avoid this huge delegation of unnecessary companies without useful impact on our people. 80% of our money had been spent previously in Hai Sora, which should have gone to the health sector, schools, and developmental sector. If President Kiir wanted to fire you, let him fire you while monitoring farms or schools somewhere in Aweil. Don’t focus on who is lobbying for your seat in Juba.

3. Have unexpected visits to schools, hospitals, and ministries. Most of the ministers and directors are not going to office. You don’t need to receive a report without going to the field to find out the real issue. You are young, make use of your energy and knowledge, and must set an example in Northern Bhar EL Ghazal State.

4. You need to kill Valentino in the physical infrastructure: These guys are corrupt and must be addressed as such. Kindly pay attention to them if you can’t fire them; make a reshuffle, please.

5. Mistreatment of IO ministers must stop. It’s really bad if DG is using a vehicle and the minister is footing simply because he comes from IO; this is portraying a bad image for our state. I hope you heard how IO’s minister was involved in an accident while on Boda Boda while DG was driving the ministry’s car.

6. Engage consultants to help you in planning, especially in the financial sector: There are financial scientists in Aweil who can help set up an online financial system for you. One of the people I know who happens to be the son of Aweil is Peter Uchalla Majok. Majak works for Dt-Global South Sudan in a very senior position, and I believe most people know him as one of the committed and intelligent guys who can help set up a financial system if you need reform. UNDP is also supporting this sector and has a lot of funds regarding public financial reform (PFR).

7. Set up the internet in your office and attend some meetings online. You don’t need to spend 10,000 USD for a one-day meeting in Juba; I mean, that is crazy. I went to the office the other day and was shocked that there was no WI-FI in the office of the governor. Kindly address that.

To conclude my long article, I would like to thank you once again for the opportunity given to you to serve in NBeG. I hope you will be able to achieve more during your time. I would like to remind you of one thing: when you are given the opportunity, think of two things: wealth or legacy. If you choose wealth, your name will die, and if you choose legacy, your history will be read and honoured. 

The writer is a South Sudanese from Aweil doing MSC in Statistics at Pan African University in Nairobi, Kenya. The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer, and there is no influence from any contributor or any allegiance from any political or school of thought. I can be reached at this email: athiankur40@gmail.com or +254-748847545.

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