Posts by southsudannews

By Daniel Abushery Daniel

“Even if you are on the right track, you will get run over, if you just sit there” Will Rogers

June 21, 2010 (SSNA) — Many speculations and rumours are being circulated around the globe about whether or not South Sudan has the essential capability to rule and care for themselves, if in fact South does become an independent state from the "Jallaba" dominated old Sudan.

That shameful propaganda about South Sudanese being unable to rule themselves because of the spread of illiteracy, corruption, and tribalism among others, is racist at best. Because if given an equal opportunity, Southerners have the best administrators in the whole of Sudan even by the admission of some honest Northern Sudanese. For instance, during the ten-year tenure of the Addis Ababa agreement, South Sudan was actually more stable than the North in terms of democracy and peaceful transfer of powers, that Al Nimeri was so jealous, that he had to dissolve the regional government, in order to undermined the unity of South Sudanese.

Indeed tribes and tribalism are alive and well in all parts of Northern Sudan, especially in the Northern state (al Shamalia), West and East Sudan. So, to suggest that somehow South is the only exception is, truly unfounded and misguided to say the least. In addition, much of the tribal conflicts in the South are fuelled by the North, to convince the rest of the world that we can’t possibly run a government, if we are unable to control some ill-equipped tribes.

This song or music is nothing more than a psychological warfare to further wound our dignity and indeed our unity, because there are some folks in South Sudan who have actually bought into this smear campaign that, in fact we cannot manage our affairs without the help from the Jallaba. This song is not new. It’s is a very old one dating back since the 50s, and it continues patting it to the present generation. We cannot allow it to continue any longer.

The real question: How could South Sudanese be expected to achieve miracles in a five- years period of time, and just coming off a two decade long civil war? To plan for projects alone takes at least a couple of years if not more. Then, to put that plan in execution will need even more time than the planning time. So, by far, the GOSS has done far beyond expectations of fair-minded people everywhere.

Further more, after Addis Ababa accord, which granted South Sudan autonomy government, ( small government), and to the best of my knowledge, I have never experienced the presence of any Arabs or Northerners carrying out training or managing any institution over the course of the ten years tenure of peace time. Yet, with little or no educated people at the time, South managed to run a relatively smooth government, even in the face of the sabotage from Numeri’s regime.

By Justin Ambago Ramba, MD

June 20, 2010 (SSNA) — The much-awaited Sudan’s central government cabinet formation has at last come out of President Omer al Bashir’s drawer. As he (al Bashir) promised earlier to have an inclusive cabinet, I think that he has for the first time lived up to his words as his latest cabinet contains all, the good, the bad and the ugly. However what such a cabinet is bent to achieve is obviously not anything near the area of unity, thus technically it should be called the Central Government, and not a government of national unity (GoNU) as we are falsely made to assume.

According to local NIF observers’ analysis on the London based Arabic daily, Al Sharq Al Awsat (18/06/2010), this new cabinet which is made of 77 ministers, is in fact controlled by 10 people who are either military men or security agents or both, in conformity with how the country was since the eve of the 30 June 1989 coup. The first three are of course Omer Bashir himself, Lt. Gen. Abdel Rahim Mohammed Hussein (Minister of Defence), and Lt. Gen. Bakry Hassan Saleh (Minister for Presidential Affairs). All three are intimate friends and they remain very close to each other since 1989. The militant government militia chief and new Foreign Minister, Ali Karti belongs to the above group considering his role in the ‘Holy War,’ against the South. This is the man who commanded the jihadist military force a.k.a the Popular Defence Forces.

While the rest of the group are all linked to the security and intelligence since NIF/NCP’s organisational structure operates through a great deal of over-lap between party work, spying and national security intelligence network, as represented by Dr. Awad Ahmed Abu Jaz, who have occupied several ministerial posts, and is now the new minister for Industry. (Former minister for presidential Affairs, then the ministry of Energy which witnessed the beginning of Sudan’s Oil boom during his office term, and the last minister of finance).

This second group as well includes the Minister for Human Resources Development, Kamal Abdel Latif (formerly the  state minister at the Council of Ministers), the minister for Dams and Electricity, Osama Abdalla, the minister of Youth and Sports Haj Majid Sowar (a leading cadre in the Mujahidin Youth Organisation), as well as being very close to the inner circles to the many secret organisational offices and finally the state minister in the ministry of foreign affairs,  Kamal Hassan Ali (formerly the led man in NCP Office in Egypt).

The composition of this new cabinet basically underscores the sensitivity of the period ahead, as the Sudan will face one of its most difficult hurdles and that is the Self Determination Referendum in the South, the Darfur Crisis, and how the country relates to the international community/ICC arrest warrants, and the mounting internal pressure for democratic transformation.