By Malek Arol Dhieu
I was a partisan, but as we speak, I have taken a neutral position, and this is my right. No one should tamper with it. It should not shake SPLM why elections are longed for. Elections are longed for, not because they would sweep away the current leaders so that the new ones come in and try, but they will refine the current leaders to change to a different version, and who knows that this is the version South Sudanese have been longing for?
The idea is not to vote for Salva Kiir Mayardit, but it is to vote for him on the condition that the government is going to be a government of the people and not the government of the individuals. Even President Salva Kiir Mayardit himself is an individual, he should not say the government is his.
What do you think is the difference between the government of the people and the government of the individuals? If you closely look at the government of the day, it is a typical example of the government of individuals. If you have never seen and felt it, then you must be a South Sudanese who fell down from heaven yesterday. But for us who have been here since birth, we do not need to look for another example somewhere.
How is the government of the day an individual’s government? It is an individual’s government because the power of nomination for appointment is between the appointing authority and the politicians themselves. This shows that the appointment is made on an interest. Instead, the power should come from the community where a politician to be appointed comes from. This gives the community more powers to deal with their politicians in times of political disagreements.
But now, when a politician is appointed on the basis of interest, goes and works beyond the border of interest and he gets relieved, the only sanctuary place for him is the bush because he has no base in his own community, and he has just lost his base in the government.
He mobilizes some gruntled officials and youth who are experts in chasing the wind, uses the resources he has looted to arm them and declares himself a rebel so as to trouble the government to call him back. When the lenient Salva Kiir Mayardit calls him back, he enters the government, and the government operates as the government of individuals. This thing of disturbing the government to continue extending the time for elections makes the government continue operating as the government of individuals.
The government becomes the government of the people when it is the communities that give their representatives. This may happen during elections or during replacement or reshuffling. But the best way is to bring the nominees to the parliament to vet them. Remember the parliament is a house of all the communities.
This can empower the communities to nominate those they see can serve the interest of the community and if something changes them to serve like hyenas, the communities can withdraw them and nominate others who can serve like cows. This will alter the game in that instead of the communities going to the bush, it will be individuals going to the bush, and these individuals will be weaker than the communities, and therefore, they can be handled easily.
So, the ruling party SPLM must have learned from the mistakes it has caused with itself and with a pocket of individuals from other parties. During this campaign time, SPLM should use its brain’s eye to allow it to win and thereafter, make the government the government of the people and not the government of individuals.
The author is a medical student, University of Juba.