Gov’t lacks ‘clear direction and objective’ on what it wants – activist

JUBA – A South Sudanese civil society activist has said last week’s changes in the government and the army won’t achieve anything new because the government lacks a clear direction and objective on what it want and how to achieve it.

Rajab Mohandis, a well-known activist in South Sudan who also represents civil society organizations in the Reconstituted Join Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (R-JMEC) said these changes would affect the country’s current situation only if political leadership knows what the country need.

“As long as we do not have a clear direction and objective on what we want to achieve, these changes would not really achieve so much. I don’t see so much change out of these new changes in both our political leadership and the army partly because we have gone through this so many times,” Rajab is quoted by Eye Radio as saying.

“It’s only when we are determined for example if there is clarity on the implementation of the peace agreement, if there is clarity on political objectives, then such changes would be meant to achieve those goals,” he added.

The United Nations said last month that South Sudan is in a new crisis of ethnic violence motivated by cattle rustling and revenge attacks.

Rajab acknowledged that fact and urged the government to professionalize the army by training and also pay them a good salary to take on the insecurity which is affecting the country.

“It is very clear that there are serious insecurity gaps in the country. They need to be urgently addressed and these should be a priority for the leadership of the army,” the activist said.

“It requires competent, trained and professional security forces to begin to take charge of some of these things. They also require necessary orientation, motivation for these forces,” he added.

He added: “You can’t deploy forces and they are not being paid well to take care of their daily needs and you expect them to stand there hungry with guns in their hands while seeing opportunities to survive.”

“This in itself will create insecurity,”