South Sudan: End the Litany Of Broken Peace Deals

TWS|| Nicholas Waigwa

It is always encouraging to receive good news from South Sudan. I have had an opportunity to travel to the 7 of the 10 states of South Sudan. It goes without saying that much needs to be done to build this young country in almost everything, save for conflict.

Majority are in abject poverty in most areas of the vast East African Nation. Ethnic violence is a talk of the day in most villages, with small arms making peace and direct foreign investments.

The Juba Titanic

Roads are in their worst conditions with a near zero inter states tarmac link roads. It is very disturbing to read that South Sudan's public debt has increased from zero in 2011 to over US$4 billion in 2015.

With President Salva Kiir having accepted to sign the long awaited peace deal, South Sudan and her people must now accept to give peace a chance or perish in underdevelopment.

It is only through peace that South Sudanese and those who stand in solidarity with them can secure a chance to recapture the lost dignity and pave way for sustainable development.

South Sudan has a chance to seize this opportunity to join the rest of the world in the post-2015 development agenda.

It is never too late. World leaders including the South Sudan President Kiir will in September 2015 adopt a new set of sustainable development goals ‪#‎SDGs in New York.

The goals will inform the global development agenda for the coming 15 years. This will by all means present an opportunity for the leadership of South Sudan to give their country and her people the real fruits of freedom and independence.

Prosperity is possible in South Sudan. South Sudan can change the scripts from a conflict ravaged nation to a super successful and fast developing country in the world.

Peace loving south Sudanese and their friends want tranquility and prosperity. From Tonj to Wulu, Ikotos to Kapweta, Magwi to Maridi, Wau to Juba and indeed all over South Sudan....peace and visible development is all they want to see.

South Sudan_River Nile's Juba Bridge

It is time for President Salva Kiir, his supporters and Dr. Riek Machar, his supporters to end the litany of broken peace deals. It is time for the prime principals in the South Sudan’s leadership cream to make the true dreams of the gallant Anyanya 1, Anyanya II, and the most recent war for freedom martyrs and veterans come truly true. It is squarely in their hands to define the destiny of the newest nation in the world.

Proponents of the violent path to power or political violence may have their way at some given instances. That notwithstanding the cost of violence will always be high and most of the time leads to more complicated violence. It has done so in South Sudan and time to take a different path is now or never.

Let the latest signatures appended on the latest peace deal by President Kiir and Machar bring all the good things to South Sudan.

Time for South Sudan to end the litany of broken peace deals

Cecil’s Death: Lessons for Africa

TWS|| Nicholas Waigwa

Africa must draw lessons from Cecil’s murder as I have drawn super lessons from his holiness Pope Francis’ campaign against what he has called ‘ideological colonization.’ It is time we opened our eyes to the realities of ideological colonization if what President Obama sees as a continent ‘on the move’ is to move to the right direction or destruction.

Photo: Nicholas Waigwa

Cecil died because we (in Africa) have accepted to adore money at the expense of our heritage. Cecil’s death is an outcome of our assumed unquenchable thirst for bloody corruption money. We have issued licenses to kill self and our heritage in the name of chasing the foreign currency and investment.

We have created loopholes for people like Walter Palmer to travel all the way from America to Zimbabwe and elsewhere in Africa, to cold bloodedly kill the African heritage in the name of ‘legal’ trophy hunting.

Legalizing hunting has opened room for apologies such as the one coming from Palmer.  A statement linked to the suspect in the murder of Cecil explores the likely possibility of innocence based on an understanding that the killing of the lion might have happened within a legalized context. After all there is a legal way to taking away the life of an innocent wild animal.

Pic:OnlineSources

It would be naïve for any knowledgeable person of integrity to believe that the suspect in the murder of Cecil did not know the value of the lion and the attention it drew from far and wide. His motive must have been clear and with the murder of Cecil, the speed of the ‘Africa on the move’ to prosperity is on trial. A tourism sector in Zimbabwe is already in tears, thanks to an alleged $50000, which exchanged hands before Cecil’s painful dispatch to the world beyond.

As the story goes Cecil the lion was lured into the lifeless state. His monarch, which has little ones is now kingless, very vulnerable and exposed to uncertainty thanks to the destructive culture of placing money before reason and acceptance of the ‘ideological colonization’ script.

       

It is interesting how those tasked with protecting wildlife in Africa deal ruthlessly with local hunters found with a piece of game meat. We must be seen to treat criminals with equal measure in our global quest to deliver justice for the helpless wildlife entrusted to us by God.

Photo:Nicholas Waigwa

The lion breathed his last in unclear circumstances within which an American national with help from some locals were allegedly involved. Time to heed the recent “enough is enough” call by Mr. Obama on trends that undermine people’s prosperity and freedoms has come.

It goes without saying that President Obama is a strong force in the fight against that which undermines people’s prosperity including corruption. It is time he acted or triggered visible action to have Palmer punished if found guilty of having killed Cecil the LION illegally.

As Zimbabwe takes legal action against the locals linked to the killing of Cecil America should take the lead on the other hand to ensure that Dr. Palmer is held to account for allegedly using a bribe to secure access to the hunting activity that rendered Cecil lifeless.Cecil’s Death: Time to end the false ‘legal trophy hunting’ narrative

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