South Sudan: Saving a nation

The newest country in the world, South Sudan, is moving inexorably towards a bloody civil war due to a series of unresolved issues before and after independence in 2011. The immediate cause of global concern about South Sudan is a reported “coup attempt” supposedly led by the immediate vice president, Reik Machar. However, experts on South Sudan understand clearly that once President Salva Kiir dismissed his vice president in July 2013 that, sooner rather than later, ethnic-based clashes would erupt within the ethnically fragmented but powerful South Sudan army. Saving Sudan will require internationally led robust action on specific issues that South Sudan leaders failed to address before and after independence from Khartoum. First, South Sudan requires help on modern statecraft anchored on solid democratic principles and traditions. Unfortunately, bilateral and multilateral agencies assisting South Sudan have unwittingly subscribed to the idea that the latest ethnic bloodletting is due to personality clashes between President Salva Kiir and his erstwhile deputy, Reik Machar. South Sudan requires expertise on population-based democracy, governance, public management, rule of law, respect for human rights, inclusive economic growth, natural resources management and smart foreign policy strategies, including peaceful co-existence with neighbours such as the government in Khartoum. Bilateral and international institutions should help South Sudan attract its talented Diaspora to fill aforementioned gaps in modern statecraft in the short term while home-grown talent populate the expertise pipeline. South Sudan can neither continue nor sustain a militarised government strategically geared for an inevitable war against Khartoum. Today, South Sudan is an independent nation still governed by the primordial instincts of a bush-based guerrilla movement. Neither President Kiir nor Machar has shown any serious commitments to population-based democracy and the inevitable checks and balances. Kiir’s refusal to implement agreed-upon political reforms in the ruling governing party is at the core of the latest clashes. The president in the last several months had stopped or postponed crucial fence-building measures to transform the ruling party into a functional democratic institution. Any negotiations to end the ongoing bloodletting should address and insist on fast-tracked political reforms in South Sudan. In an ethnically divided country like South Sudan with well-armed militias, any sign of emerging autocracy will be resisted by ethnic groups that feel cheated in the power calculus. US role Second, the Barack Obama Administration should assume a major role in resolving the current crisis by nudging all parties with stake in South Sudan future to embrace political reforms. Sending 150 marines to rescue American citizens is not enough gesture by the most powerful country in the world towards a fragile country caught between the continued negative interest of its powerful neighbour, Sudan, and the lack of amity between various internal ethnic groups. The United States is the only external party that can bring the warring groups to the table in this messy situation in South Sudan utilising its vast political, military and economic leverage on the leadership of this beleaguered country. Precedence exists for the game-changing role of the United States: until it became actively involved, the peaceful resolution of the conflict between North and South Sudan never gained attraction. Third, the United Nations and the African Union have very important roles to play in a future, safe, prosperous South Sudan. The United Nations should hold South Sudan leaders responsible for human rights abuses and potential genocide, now and in the future. The African Union should also hold South Sudan leaders responsible for bloodletting in the country. It is critical for every ethnic warmonger, rebel leader or political leader in South Sudan to become aware that the patient, cold, long arm of continental and international justice awaits perpetrators of human rights abuses and orchestrated bloodletting. Fourth, South Sudan will benefit from family-focused, community-based poverty reduction initiatives. This effort will require a determined paradigm shift by bilateral and multilateral partners to move away from elegant policy prescriptions to the urgent, practical need to empower families and communities in South Sudan to escape grinding poverty. The current concentration of development efforts around Juba is not only shortsighted but also dangerous in one of the poorest countries in the world. Once the current crisis is resolved, domestic, continental and international development partners in order to guarantee the long term stability of South Sudan should assist the government to invest in targeted poverty reduction programmes in all geographic regions of the country. These efforts should include investments in education, healthcare, vocational skills training, agriculture and tourism. In particular, South Sudan with the active cooperation of its development partners should plan on making it possible for able bodied men and women to earn decent living through massive direct labour-based infrastructure projects. South Sudan will never enjoy long term peace until its well-armed but poor citizens can feed, clothe and educate their families. Rampant corruption Fifth, South Sudan must fight corruption to a standstill for the country to have a fighting chance of meeting the needs of its citizens. It is no secret that another major cause of the current crisis is the personal determination of President Kiir to fight corruption amongst his erstwhile comrade-in-arms in the struggle for independence. However, fighting corruption is not a one-man crusade. It requires establishing and sustaining credible institutions anchored on principles of equity and justice. It also requires the creation of enabling, transparent environment for economic activities and stable macroeconomic policies. In addition, a resolute fight against corruption requires stable polity, especially independent legislative bodies and judiciary as well as rule-of-law oriented public safety institutions. Finally, South Sudan is in urgent need of resourceful, patriotic and resilient civil society. The best foil against a permanently militarised South Sudan is a determined civil society focused on government transparency, equity, rule of law and social justice. Credible civil society organisations will shun ethnic jingoism and fawning personality cults. The government of South Sudan will benefit from the eternal sunshine of accountability, vigorous debate of national issues and the deliberate encouragement of citizenry participation in governance. The current crisis in South Sudan is not unexpected. It is also not about President Kiir and his former deputy, Machar. The crisis has deep structural roots that require bold, fundamental solutions. The international community in order to save the newest country in the world must end business-as-usual intervention processes to tackle deep-rooted national issues that current South Sudan have failed or are unable to address. For the sake of more than one million citizens of South Sudan that died during the 60-year struggle for independence, the international community led by the United States should intervene forcefully to save South Sudan. The author,([email protected] ) is the former chairman of the Technical Advisory Board, Africa Center for Health and Human Security, George Washington University, Washington, DC. He has written extensively on health and development issues, including five books.