Wednesday, April 13, 2005

The daunting challenges ahead in Southern Sudan!!!

Thousands of our skilled expatriates must be thinking that now is the time to go home and possibly contribute effectively in the coming redevelopment of Southern Sudan in particular. But we all know that the challenges are plenty, and the groundwork for luring more of our people to actually go back and be agents of change and progress are not there yet.

But here is what I believe our seminal challenge will be during this anticipated reconstruction period. The challenge will be to resist the urge to think of progress and development as the sole provinces of our government institutions. The expectation that whatever monetary inflows from the oil revenues and international aid will be the only guarantee of the success of the reconstruction effort is a dangerous one that one must check.

Moreover, I think a greater factor in determining the future fate of our country will be the climate that prevails during the next 2 years. Law and order remain major components of guaranteeing this conducive social order. Equally critical is the transparency of the governing institutions during the transitional period.

Our various communities are edging slowly out of decades of displacement and anarchy, and currents of anxiety, distrust and trauma are flowing all over the place. The onset of rampant corruption, nepotism or abuse by the custodians of the new government in the South will reignite all these suppressed fears and totally destroy the rebuilding process.

These are primary challenges that all of our genuinely concerned people should contribute towards addressing with foresight and openness. Participating in the political and social discourse underway is the first step to make sure we are talking renaissance in 6 years, and not anarchy and war.

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