Assessing the viability of the reconstitution of the national dialogue steering committee

A missed opportunity! Assessing the viability of the republican order no. 08/2017 for the reconstitution of the national dialogue steering committee, 2017, in bringing peace in South Sudan (part 1)

By Daniel Juol Nhomngek, Kampala, Uganda

April 30, 2017 (SSB) — The Republican order no. 08/2017 for the reconstitution of the National Dialogue Steering Committee, 2017 A.D. was issued on 25^th April, 2017 to appoint numerous persons to lead the National Dialogue in South Sudan. The purpose for the National Dialogue is to bring lasting peace in bringing the war to an end in South Sudan. That war which was begun on December 15, 2013 proved to be a disaster for the country. It is said to have killed over three hundred thousand (300,000) people and internally displaced millions of people. Also, about million of citizens have sought refuge in the neighbouring countries, notably, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt.

Center for Conflict Resolution (CECORE) and the Centre for Peace and Development Studies (CPDS) projected that the intensity of the conflict may cost South Sudan of about between US$22 billion and $28 billion if the war continues unabatedly. In addition, (CECORE) and (CPDS) pointed out that if the action is taken now to achieve peace, then the international community, particularly Western donors, may save about US$30 billion by reducing expenditure on peacekeeping and humanitarian assistance. It concluded that this scenario would also mean that the neighbouring economies of Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda could collectively save US$53 billion.

AU calls on South Sudanese warring parties to ceasefire Immediately

AU calls on South Sudanese warring parties to ceasefire Immediately (PDF)

Can Jieng Council of Elders (JCE) be trusted to play positive roles in South Sudan?

A Comment on Hon. Aldo Ajou Deng’s article: “President Kiir should use Dr John Garang’s precedence to unite the Mother SPLM”

By Truthhurt, Juba, South Sudan

John Garang, Salva Kiir, Riek Machar and James Wani Igga

April 30, 2017 (SSB) —- Reading through Hon. Aldo Ajou Deng’s article posted on PaanLuel Wël’s, which dated April 28th, 2017 and titled “President Kiir should use Dr John Garang’s precedence to unite the Mother SPLM”, I couldn’t agree more with him on this because the Bible says (Ecclesiastes 8:3) “There is time for everything … a time for war and a time for peace”.

And without any doubt this time is a time for peace in South Sudan because we have already witnessed destruction of human lives, displacement of millions of citizens from their homes, insanity prevailed for so long, political class inability to resolve their differences amicably & peacefully and the list goes on.

Therefore, Hon. Ajou’s call for President Kiir to use Dr John Garang’s precedence not only to unite the Mother SPLM but to also bring lasting peace in South Sudan is right. However, the question is will President Kiir listen to the voices of peace this time around Or will he stick to his usual way of a none compromise strategy which he has been using for quite sometimes now, is yet to be seen?

The Senseless War of Attrition over Scarce Resources and Power in South Sudan

The Tossing of the African Breadbasket: On the Senseless Fight over Resources in South Sudan

By Mayak Deng Aruei, USA

April 30, 2017 (SSB) — When nothing is forthcoming, people dream of change, and a quick fix to the ailing governance in the country can hardly be achieved by guns alone. Let’s be honest for a minute, the ongoing military wrangle in South Sudan is about power and the wealth that comes with being in power. Until South Sudan make a lasting political arrangement (Constitution), any power hungry person with the mobs to execute his cause can put the country into mess at any time.

A forced change of leaders through violence is not the change that South Sudanese want. The landlocked country has been on the locked down within a very short period of time (famine). In any nation, the very people who pay dearly are the children, elderly and women. There has been enormous suffering on both sides of the conflict, and in the fiercest political rivalry between the President Salva Kiir’s SPLM faction and Dr. Riek Machar’s SPLM-in-Opposition.