South Sudan’s crisis is far beyond a power struggle

On December 15, around 10 PM, heavy gun fire clashes between the South Sudanese presidential guards were reported in the capital Juba. The national TV went off air, and the airport was closed. The following day, President Salva Kiir appeared in full military attire in a press conference and accused the former vice president Riek Machar of leading a failed coup.

The death of several hundreds in few days and the attacks on UN soldiers forced international and regional mediators to intervene in an attempt to prevent this political tension from escalating into a civil war. As negotiations are being arranged, several questions need answers: Are the factors behind this crisis purely political? How mature is the country’s leadership? And how fragile is this nascent nation? In fact, several questions will remain unanswered.

The 15^th of December is nothing but a turning point in an ongoing power struggle. A week before the alleged coup, senior officials from the ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (“SPLM”) party held a press conference, openly criticizing Salva Kiir’s leadership of the party and the whole country.
Machar was in the lead, and along with his colleagues he declared a rally to take place few days later. As party seniors invited Machar and his colleagues for an internal dialogue with Kiir during the National Liberation Council (“NLC”) event, the rally was postponed. Bishops and sheikhs gave the opening speech of the NLC reminding all the leaders in the room that discussion was the wise way to solve problems.
But apparently this did not calm the brewing anger. After the first day of the NLC meetings, and specifically on December 14, Machar declared he was pulling out of the meeting and invited his colleagues to do the same.

Last July, Machar was sacked from his position as a vice president, but remained serving as the vice chairman of the ruling SPLM. Commenting on his dismissal with a smile, he declared he will run against President Kiir for his positions as chairman of the SPLM and as president of the Republic.
Machar was not the only challenger to Kiir’s leadership. Pagan Amum, the former secretary-general of SPLM, who was sacked at the same time as Machar, also declared he would run for president in the 2015 elections. Amum was later subject to an internal SPLM investigation and was dismissed from the party – a decision which incited much criticism about Kiir.

Both men had a habit of openly criticizing Kiir’s decisions even when they still served in office. But after their dismissal, they waged a campaign against the SPLM’s leader, calling for internal reform and describing him as an undemocratic president.

In a mosaic society like South Sudan, politics is never the sole motive behind power struggles......Read More  
http://globalriskinsights.com/2014/01/08/south-sudans-crisis-is-far-beyond-a-power-struggle/

South Sudan Corruption Rampant, Despite Sacked Ministers

August 4, 2013 | Ahmed Abou Taleb

Over the past few weeks, President Salva Kiir of South Sudan has made several controversial decisions that will mark the history of the two-year-old nation. In an already troubled political scene, the president sacked two governors, two ministers and then dismissed his vice president, the secretary-general of his party and the entire cabinet. Amid this power struggle, the suspension of the two ministers following allegations of corruption comes as the first of its kind. It caused controversy and raised concerns that this was a politically motivated decision. But it also highlighted the challenges the infant nation faces, and the need to resist rampant corruption in the country’s complex political environment.

Suspended by the president, Minister of Finance Kosti Manibe and Minister of Cabinet Affairs Deng Alor stand accused of transferring $8 million of public funds from the national treasury into a private account “without the knowledge of the relevant state institutions.” The move came as the ruling Sudan People Liberation Movement (SPLM) suffered cracks within the top leadership. President Kiir’s decision to sack two out of the ten elected state governors – the Lakes State governor, followed a few months later by Unity State governor earlier this month – without explanation incited criticism even from fellow party leaders.

The then SPLM Secretary General Pagan Amum openly criticized President Kiir’s decision describing it as “wrong and politically motivated” decision, warning that the move may generate “mistrust and tribal tensions,” already problematic factors contributing to the country’s instability. A few days later, Pagan Amum himself and Vice President Riek Machar, who previously declared their intention to run the expected 2015 presidential, along with the entire cabinet were dismissed from their positions.

However, using corruption allegations to eliminate political rivals will not deal with the real weight of the problem and its impact on the state building process. Several scandals shocked the country, both during the interim phase that followed the signature of the CPA between Sudan and South Sudan (2005-2011) and after the referendum that led to the country’s independence in January 2011. Yet, rarely was anyone held accountable, which led donors to lose their confidence in the set-up government and the ruling elite.

Government procurement and construction projects are the areas most affected by corruption. One of the more shocking scandals was the grain Dura Saga project, a 2008 government food security program targeting the provision of grain in each state. Estimates suggest billions of dollars were paid to about 290 companies, some of which were one day old, but few reserves and stores were built and almost no food supply was ever delivered. An investigation launched in 2009 reached.......Read More

http://globalriskinsights.com/2013/08/04/south-sudan-corruption-rampant-despite-sacked-ministers/