South Sudan: the Challenges of Independent Statehood, by Atunga Atuti O.J.

July 9^th 2011 is the day that South Sudanese have been waiting for the past quarter century of struggle for self determination. The day is here the moment has arrived and nationals of this newest state on the map of the world are in celebratory mood which will last for months to come. This party is deserved and we applaud the South Sudanese on their gallant struggles and on the attainment of their independence. But when the hangover of this long party is over, South Sudan has a mammoth task of building a credible and viable state. 

This feat is fraught with  challenges. The declaration of independence is being witnessed amid  a myriad of challenges of addressing a range of issues that were left unsettled ahead of the January 9^th 2011 and which have not been resolved in the interim period as stipulated in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement. One of the key issues that will occupy the post-independence period is the status of Abyei region. This is an area rich in oil and other natural wealth that straddles the borderlines of the North and the South. The resolution of the Abyei question to the satisfaction of both parties will mark the beginning peaceful and sustainable co-existence of the two new states which are conjoined in their dependence of shared resources for their survival as credible entities. The resolution of the status of Abyei will be done through a referendum whose modalities the two parties would not agree on. With independence for the South the  positions and posturing of the two new states will  harden with the passage of the deadline. Lack of progress in resolving the  Abyei question will be one of the key challenges in the path to sustainable peace and development or a return to war. The Abyei Question is perhaps one of the biggest questions in Sudan history for along time to come. It has the possibility of being settled and acting as a point of integration between the North and South or might turn out to be the crux of the Sudanese relationship for the foreseeable future.

Other than the Abyei question border demarcation between the North and South was to be completed ahead of the January referendum. This was however not done. At independence the border demarcation issues has not been addressed conclusively. South Sudan has released a map designating her territory covering some of the contested territories including Abyei as part of the South. This will certainly not sit well with the Khartoum administration. Borders have been problematic in many African states. At independence, the African Union insisted on the inviolability of borders as inherited at independence and these were responsible for post independence cross border wars where populations felt divided by what the considered artificial constructions. The issues of border will be one of the challenges of independence because other than  the borders with the North, the South has unresolved border issues with  her other neighbours. This is especially dire in the case of  the two Sudans have  no choice but to coexist,  and have contested borders and  populations straddling across borders in many areas including  Abyei, North Bahr el Ghazal and Southern Darfur, Southern Darfur and Western Bahr el Ghazal Unity and South Kordofan Upper Nile States South Kordofan and Blue Nile States.

Secondly, there are the questions of citizenship wealth and oil sharing arrangement, the Sudan debt, the Sudan Currency, the fate of international and regional agreements that are not yet discussed, negotiated and resolved. With the referendum results announced it is imperative that the North and South leadership engage and establish frameworks for  constructive management of post independence  issues in the coming  months. The good will of the international community, the African  and the East African Community and  the mother of the CPA, IGAD is critical for the  two Sudans to navigate some of the outstanding issues and establish friendly and mutually beneficial relations. It is also in  the interest of the region that the two sudans are at peace with  themselves as part of the sub regional peace and security matrix.

The Government of South Sudan has to face the challenges of managing expectations, resettling returnees, consolidating the divergent Southern political elites and militias, transforming the Sudan Peoples Liberation Army from a guerrilla armed formation to a conventional and modern army capable of performing the functions of state defense. But the key challenge of South Sudan is that creating and revisiting the vision of the struggle for independence. The recently unveiled national anthem captures that vision but the people must realize the results of independence and taste its rewards otherwise this will turn out to be Pyrrhic victory and the creation of an entity that is not at peace with itself.

South Sudan borders five volatile neighbours, that have outstanding border issues and is also part of the Nile Basin an internationally shared water resource whose utilization has been contested for a long time.  Management of these issues is key not only to the stability of the Sudan but also for regional peace and security.

But more critical though is the creation of the infrastructure of statehood; building the physical infrastructure for mobility and service delivery will be critical in the immediate to medium term but the bigger challenge in this respect is  the building of human capital to develop the state from scratch. In this respect, the support and goodwill of the neighbours will be key to the creation of a credible state of a potentially failed state.

As East Africans, we applaud the Success of  the South Sudan independence struggle  but hasten to add that the  government of the Republic of South Sudan has an uphill task in negotiating the various challenges, consolidating national unity and satisfying the demands of various internal and external forces. The governors of this new state well endowed with natural wealth and a strong willed people have  no excuse but to live true to the wording of their national anthem:

We arise raising the flag with the guiding star, and sing songs of freedom with joy, For justice, liberty and prosperity shall forever more reign….

We congratulate the people of South Sudan on the attainment of their independence.

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Atunga Atuti O.J.-is the Chief Executive Officer of the East African School of Human Rights and  Convener of the Nairobi Policy Dialogues on the Sudan (email: eajournal@email.com). this Article first appeared in the East African Standard on July 17th 2011