What South Sudan needs
What you need to know:
- The fight to break away from the Sudan was meant to realise greater development and enjoyment of rights by the people of South Sudan, who had been marginalised for a long time.
- Ironically, independence has seen much more suffering for the people it was meant to benefit.
The relative peace in South Sudan following the reconciliation between President Salva Kiir and his former deputy Riek Machar is an opportunity to address the challenges in the 10 years of independence of Africa’s youngest nation, which civil strife and armed conflicts have denied a chance to realise its expectations.
The fight to break away from the Sudan was meant to realise greater development and enjoyment of rights by the people of South Sudan, who had been marginalised for a long time. Ironically, independence has seen much more suffering for the people it was meant to benefit.
Tens of thousands have been killed in the past decade and property destroyed in a vicious civil war sparked by a political dispute between President Kiir and Dr Machar. This has hampered the exploitation of the country’s huge potential, including oil and other natural resources, to enhance development.
Peace, stability and tranquillity
South Sudan marks this key anniversary amid uncertainty but hopeful that the peace agreement will hold and leaders will work together for prosperity. The people yearn for peace, stability and tranquillity after enduring decades of violence.
Like other countries , South Sudan is struggling to recover from the devastation of the Covid-19 pandemic. The health crisis has exacerbated an already awful situation. Some 7.2 million South Sudanese are suffering from acute food scarcity. They include 1.4 million children at risk of malnutrition. Humanitarian agencies are appealing for more donations amid cuts due to the health crisis unleashed by Covid-19.
South Sudanese should, indeed, be celebrating independence from neighbouring Sudan in 2011 after a long and vicious struggle, but there is little to cheer about, although many people are still optimistic about their country’s future. A new era of peace and cohesion is what South Sudan badly needs.
