By Justin Ambago Ramba, MD

August 16, 2010 (SSNA) -- The more things change in the Sudan, the more they remain the same. This is typical of the post CPA era, where policies were supposed to have been changed to accommodate a diversified citizenry for a country already at the verge of collapse and disintegration due to imbalanced policies, marred by racial and cultural prejudices.

Within the Sudan’s socioeconomic and political power house in Khartoum, still exists the mindsets of the 20^th century and it continues to dictate the pace of the changes taking place in the country. It will be a sheer naivety should we look at the Sudan only in terms of SPLM, Umma, DUP, NDA, JEM, SLM or NIF/NCP. The country remains polarised to the four geographical directions and nobody knows whether this set up will ever give way to any other module where a better Sudan for all can be envisaged.

Preferring not to talk about how the 5^th Population census was intentional manipulated to give the world a false impression of the 21^st century Sudan, nor will I waste the readers valuable time in talking about the sham election of April 2010, however there is already a new danger ahead for any peace loving Sudanese, be them from the south or the north. Thanks to the fact that the CPA is never expected to exist forever and as such the people of Sudan must start taking the unfolding events more seriously especially as the peace agreement nears its end.

At this particular juncture president Omer al Bashir himself or his deputy, Ali Osman Taha and the rest of the leadership in the NCP need to cope up with the fact that for them to continue to have a say on south Sudan, they must allow for a timely referendum to take place. It is only when the people of south Sudan have majority so chosen to remain in a united Sudan through that referendum which must be free, fair, transparent and credible then al Bashir and his regime can continue to rule over the south. While they must be reminded that anything else outside this set scenario will only promote secession even if the whole Nile has to run red.

Nevertheless most Sudanese are already aware of the fact that the country can no longer be kept united without risking going back to war, although the minority northern elites who are historically detached from the realities of the Sudan continue to displaying   behaviours that only suit those who are hooked up in the world of fantasies away from the facts of life.  Nowhere is this malignant mindset well manifested than in the way the northern NCP/NIF has so far gone around putting hurdles in the implantation of the CPA. Foot dragging, intentional delays, lack of urgency to outright reluctance have come to form a typical pattern of NCP’s  approach to crucial national issues far from realising that by so doing it has even done more damage to any chance of unity in the Sudan, than if it  were to have implemented the agreement to  the word and spirit.

To date the referendum to determine the fate of south Sudan is right   at the fore front of international politics with dozens of stake-holders absorbed in finding ways on how best the imminent political divorce between the two parts of the country can be achieved and possibly averting any return to war. Unfortunately this same sensitivity in handling this stage of the peace agreement is not in any way shared by the country’s President, Omer al Bashir nor did his hardliners of the Islamic fanatics who continue to dominate the politics of the Khartoum based Islamic regime.

The whole of the international community as represented by the US administration, EU, UN, AU, and the IGAD have all declared their readiness to see that a fair, transparent, timely and credible referendum takes place on the 9^th of January 2011. To back up their words, they have all come forwards donating in total 80% of the whole cost for the polling exercise and are still ready to do more should the peace partners request for it. This is totally incomparable to the pathetic situation on the Sudanese side where outstanding issues like the border between the north and the south remain unsolved.

However the failure of the two partners to name a secretary general for the National Referendum Commission (NRC) is one main point that blows the whole drama out of proportions. The NRC is the body entrusted with running the referendum barely four months from now, and for it to remain non functioning up till now signifies a sinister intent especially so from the northern NCP of president Omer al Bashir.

The bizarre position of the dominant Islamist party of Omer Bashir has nothing to do with unity of the Sudan as they would what to mislead the public opinion into believing. The NIF/NCP‘s only interest is to retain their tight grip on power in the centre. The referendum and eventually the secession of the south is bent to deprive them not only of a traditional sphere of influence but may also set a precedent where the volatile Darfur may go to become uncontrollable and possibly opt for a state of its own. Voices are already coming up from the Nuba Mountains and other parts of the country where the people are seriously considering some forms of greater autonomy,  if not an outright secession.

It will also be a gross mistake to think that it is only the northerners or even the Islamists for that matter who are seriously concerned with maintaining the Sudan as a united country. The naked fact is that it is the racially Arab oriented and Islamic galvanised policies being vertically imposed by the northern riveran elites throughout the decades following the so-called independence of the Sudan that has directly trigger waves of discontent and  disunity the nationwide.

The Southern dominated SPLM was initially a unionist movement, per the confessions of its founders and senior leaders. However their view of a united Sudan is never shared by the northern and to some extend the other parts of the country. While SPLM continues to stand by its vision of a secular united Sudan, the NIF/NCP and the other religiously oriented political groups in the northern parts of the country are not only keen to maintain the currently Islamic structure, but are ready to use State apparatus to promote Arabism and Islamism, leaving the dream of a secular Sudan impossible to achieve.

It is indeed quite unfortunate for those who stand by the unity of the Sudan that the version of unity to be contested in January 9^th referendum is the unity existing today in the country. it is the unity under Omer al Bashir and his Islamic NCP which obviously leaves a non Arab , non Muslim south Sudanese not only totally disadvantaged, but in an extremely inferior position within his/her own country. Anybody in their right state of mind will never miss an opportunity to liberate themselves from this type of a setting whenever an opportunity avails itself. It is an answer to many struggles, prayers and dreams and it will be extremely stupid for people of south Sudan to squander such an opportunity.

On the other hand the ruling NCP is aware that the unity that it is offering to the southerners is a unity that is not attractive in any way and that the momentum picked up by the call for Independence of south Sudan has reached an unstoppable stage. But as one of the party’s senior figure, Speaker at the National Assembly in Omdurman once put it, they (NCP), are going to make it extremely difficult for the south to secede. This is different from making unity attractive, and it is a point I would like Professor Mohamed Ibrahim Khalil, the chairperson for the National Referendum Commission (NRC), to understand. He has to know that the ill intentions of his fellow northerners are already made abundantly clear to the people of the South. This already makes his duty extremely difficult if he is to find even a single southerner to fool so that the north gets both the chair position as well as the secretary general on the referendum commission.

Professor Khalil is quick to blame the southern members of the NCR for the fact that they are bent to vote as a block. This begs me to have reservations on the way the Professor intends to tackle the referendum issues. He talks of lack of trust between the southern and northern members of his commission which to him is unhealthy because it would deny a northerner from becoming the secretary general of the commission. Is this the Professor’s main concern? A point well made and Mr. Chairman wants his secretary general to be a fellow northerner, which unfortunately is not going to happen. And as he threatens to quit, I think with his kind of mindset, he better does so. How do we rate a Professor who doesn’t see “lack of trust” being the actually reason that the South is insisting to go to the referendum?

The SPLM secretary general on his side has already declared to the media that unless the deadlock in the NRC is settled within two weeks and a secretary general in named, there is a fear that the referendum will face demise. This is also a point well made and must be taken seriously by the members of the international community. More pressure need to be exerted on the Sudanese Presidency to approve of a southerner for the post of the NRC secretary general, otherwise it wouldn’t go well in the south where a commission to determine their political fate is unfairly dominated by the northerners. Whether it is the Professor’s personal assessment or it is what the President requests of him, the trust between the north and the south can only work both ways. A northerner as the NRC chairperson and southerner as its secretary general is a good compromise.

We will continue to engage the North through the CPA until the agreement finally runs out. What we are not ready for is the renegotiation of the truce. How short a time we are left with, still efforts can be doubled to secure that the referendum is carried out as scheduled and on time. It is understandable that confrontations with our traditional foes in the North will never stop and the possibility of going back to war is all rife; however we will not be dragged into a premature venture. But when we will finally fight, we will do so solely to protect our declared Independent and sovereign state.

Our word to the international community should be clear, brief and to the point. We are not warmongers, but we believe that our Independence and sovereignty are our utmost goals. Although negotiating with the fanatic NIF/NCP Islamists and the North in general can be a nightmare, but as long as we have the International community on our side together with a viable CPA, we will continue to pursue peaceful settlements for the benefit of all. However should we be forced to fight again, we will do so as a people with pride and dignity.

The author: Dr. Justin Ambago Ramba, MB BCh DRH MD. He is a concerned south Sudanese residing in the UK and can reached at: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

“A hero is born among a hundred, a wise man is found among a thousand, but an accomplished one might not be found even among a hundred thousand.” –Plato.

By Luk Kuth Dak

August 16, 2010 (SSNA) -- Have you ever asked yourself the question, why there’re some great leaders and some who aren’t? The answer is, great leaders are those individual politicians who have an informed passion for politics and serving others. And passion is essential because it plays a major role in making tough decisions that might never be popular, but that must be made for the greater good.

Meanwhile, those leaders who aren’t great, are virtually the ones who have an uninformed passion for politics or serving others. They become politicians purely for individualistic purposes- mostly- in search of fame and wealth. Thus, an uninformed passion is as dangerous as any other form of ignorance.

Certainly, those kinds of selfish individualistic politicians not only are they toxic to their own societies, but they are dangerous to their nations, in that they wouldn’t hesitate or have a second thought, to destroy their people and nation, if it fulfills their personal wants and needs. Therefore culling them should be the duty of everyone in South Sudan.

To prove my point, you shouldn’t look further than the “Jallaba golden boys” Dr. Lam Akol, and most certainly, the purported Professor, David De Chand.

However, the sad truth is, we are all being presumed guilty by association with those individuals. And in David’s case, I’m twice as guilty. Firstly, by both of us being South Sudanese. And secondly, by both being Nuer, even though he doesn’t speak a word of the Nuer language, nor he behaves as a Nuer should behave. Not to mention, of course, that his name “David De Chand” sounds more French than the French President, Nicolas Sarkozy.

Besides, in a recent interview with Al Rayaam, a pro government Arabic daily newspaper, the congenital liar, David De Chand was quoted as saying, “ The time is not right for the South Sudan to secede; We shall not accept to be cut off from Sudan.” Then he was asked about the imposition of the Islamic faith on none Muslims, especially in the so-called Sudan’s national capital, Khartoum. De Chand wasted no time. “There’s no such a thing as Islam’s imposition taking place; And by the way, the majority of South Sudanese are now Muslims; Mosques exist along Churches because there is freedom of worship; Our problem in the Sudan is political. It’s neither racial nor religious,” he disgorged.

Now, that’s as treacherous as it gets. And it had to hurt, especially for some of us, who identify themselves as Nuer. I can go on and on again, but, I think you got the message.

In essence, as an anchorman and a reporter, I was privileged enough to get the sense of what great leaders are all about, and what they all have in common. Based on that exposure, there no is shadow of a doubt in my humble opinion, and that of many other South Sudanese people that, Honorable, Ustaz Pagam Amum, the distinguished Secretary General of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) is indeed one of the greatest leaders in South Sudan and a true patriot, who always has the best interest of the people of South Sudan at heart, and stands up for what is the right thing to do.

Indeed, I’m livid. Instead of thanking the man and extolling him for all he has done, and for waking up every morning, and going to bed every night, thinking about the welfare of South Sudan, he has now become the target of cheap shots bashing, name-calling and character assassination, by the sellout flunkies and NCP Southern accomplices in the so-called SPLM-DC; who are engaging in the king-making of Dr. Lam Akol.

Like most Southerners, I can fully understand the reasons behind the relentless assault and the savage campaign waged by the NCP/NIF bigots, against Ustaz Pagan Amum. That’s their prerogative. But, when the assault comes from some wicket South Sudanese, it can’t be anything less than a treason. And those who commit treason belong behind bars.

Pagan Amum is a hero, indeed.

The author is a Sudanese journalist and a former news anchor at Juba Radio. He can be reached at: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

August 22, 2010 (Khartoum) -- Sudan is planning to build a nuclear reactor for electricity purpose, Sudan’s state run media SUNA reports.

“The government had begun to plan in early 2010 to develop nuclear energy”, Mohamed Ahmed Hassan el-Tayeb, director-general of the Sudanese Atomic Energy Agency, was quoted by SUNA as saying.

The director of SAEA said that officials from IAEA are expected to arrive in Sudan this week for further discussion.

SUNA said that Sudan will build its first nuclear power plant by 2010 with assistance from International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

"The Ministry of Electricity and Dams has already started preparing for the project to produce power from nuclear energy in cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency and is expected to build the first nuclear power plant in the year 2020," SUNA reported.

Iran is thought to be helping the Sudanese government build its first nuclear power plant.

However, some global experts on security believe that Iran may be using Sudan as a “scapegoat” to funnel weapons to Iran-sponsored terrorist organizations in Africa and the Middle East.

In May, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a U.S.-designated terrorist organization, was accused of operating a secret weapons factory in Sudan. But Sudan dismissed the charges as a “smear tactic” by the west.

Sudan is a member of an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) since 1958.

JUBA, Sudan (AP) — A city shaped like a giraffe? A rhino-shaped town? Even one that looks from above like a pineapple? Southern Sudan has unveiled ambitious plans to remake its capital cities in the shapes found on their state flags, and an official says the government is talking with investors to raise the $10 billion the fanciful communities would cost.

The plan in the war-torn region comes ahead of a scheduled January referendum on independence, which most people here believe will lead to the creation of the world's newest country. The south is rich in oil, but poverty and hunger is high throughout the region, which is struggling to recover after a civil war more than two decades long.

The $10 billion concept will take decades to carry out, officials concede, though it may never escape the planning stages. The southern government's own 2010 budget was only $1.9 billion, and the U.N. says more than 90% of Southern Sudan's population lives on less than $1 a day.

The plans have evoked bemused smiles — or outright laughter — in Juba, a town that until two years ago barely had any paved roads.

"It doesn't seem like the (Government of Southern Sudan) should be using its resources or staff time when the people of Southern Sudan lack basic services like health care and water," Nora Petty, an aid worker in Juba with the Malaria Consortium.

Government officials concede that a lot of money is needed to finance the project, which includes a plan to transform two state capitals into the shapes of a giraffe and a pineapple.

Juba — the capital of Southern Sudan — is to be reshaped into a compact rhino with two pointy horns. The new area will be called "Rhino City."

Officials said the plan would bring order to the city's chaotic layout.

"Juba is made up of slums," said Jemma Kumba, the minister of housing and physical planning.

Detailed architectural drawings of Rhino City show that Central Equatoria's police headquarters would be situated at the rhino's mouth, an amusement park at the ear, an industrial area along the back and residential housing throughout the four legs.

"It's very innovative. That's our thinking. It's unique. It's the Ministry of Housing thinking you have to be unique to attract the people," said Daniel Wani, undersecretary of Southern Sudan's Ministry of Housing and Physical Planning.

If the animal-shaped towns come to be, they will join other famously shaped cities around the world. Dubai created several palm-shaped residential islands off its coast. In Argentina, planners shaped the town of Ciudad Evita into the form of Eva Peron, an actress and wife of former President Juan Peron who was known as Evita.

Of course, per capita income in the United Arab Emirates, where Dubai is located, is around $42,000 a year. In Sudan, it's just $2,300.

And unlike well-developed Dubai, Southern Sudan still lacks basic infrastructure such as roads to connect its state capitals. Outside the southern capital Juba, structures aside from mud huts are rare, and in Juba, services such as electricity and sewage are a luxury.

The Minister of Roads and Transport, Anthony Makana, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that he needed up to $6 billion to pave 8,000 miles of roads in the south.

Makana said the project would connect all of the southern state capitals, but he noted that funding is a concern, given that the government has not finished paying the contractors who built 4,350 miles of red clay and gravel roads since 2005, when the landmark peace accord between the north and south was signed.

Khartoum - Ten people were killed after a mine collapsed in a desert region of northern Sudan that is currently in the grip of a gold rush, the interior ministry said on Wednesday.

"Ten people are dead following the collapse at a small gold mine at Kabkabah village in the Abu Hamed sector," a ministry statement quoted Nile state police chief Adel Khujly al-Jak as saying.

Rising gold prices combined with the availability of metal detectors has sparked a gold rush in northern Sudan, with thousands of prospectors descending on the area in recent years in the hope of striking it rich.Several reports have appeared in the Khartoum papers about deadly accidents, usually citing anonymous sources. Prospectors from the north often come to the capital to sell gold in the large Al-Arabi souk.

"For the past two years prospectors have been coming to us to sell gold," Mahdi, a jeweller in the market, told AFP. "Sometimes they have 100 grammes, 250 grammes or even a kilo or more.

"Here in Khartoum we have cash to buy their gold, whereas in the north the merchants have less liquidity." - AFP

Mr Nafie however accused SPLM of wanting to divide Sudan, adding if the movement decided on declaring south Sudan’s independence by a parliamentary vote without a referendum it would be committing political suicide.” - Daily Nation

JUBA Sudan, Aug 20 (Reuters) - Southern Sudan holds a referendum on Jan. 9 on independence from the north, and most analysts believe the south will secede.

But some question whether the region, which was devastated by decades of civil war but is rich in resources, can survive independently from the north, which it fought for so long.

Here are some questions and answers on an independent south Sudan.

WILL ANYTHING CHANGE?

Analysts who dismiss the doomsday scenarios for secession say that the semi-autonomous south has been effectively self-governing since a 2005 peace deal, and little will change after the vote.

After more than two decades of civil war with the north, the accord allowed the former rebels of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) to govern Southern Sudan, securing billions of dollars in donor funding and oil revenues.

"Currently, the southern government has a lot of operational independence. It has its own legislature, its own security forces and control over an unprecedented amount of government wealth due to oil revenues," said Marc Gustafson, a Sudan scholar at Oxford University.

Many southern officials expect business-as-usual for their development projects and to continue coordination with their northern neighbour after secession.

Isaac Liabwel of the Ministry of Water Resources said a number of joint north-south funded agricultural development and hydro-electric projects in the south were under way, and could continue if funding issues were agreed.

There is general agreement that billions of dollars in aid will be needed to sustain development in the south. A U.N. peacekeeping mission is likely to remain to help with security issues in the south and along the disputed north-south border.

IS THE SOUTH ECONOMICALLY VIABLE?

The south gets 98 percent of its budget revenues from oil, but all the infrastructure and Sudan's ports are in the north, making the south highly vulnerable to any tension with its neighbour.

In the absence of a pipeline or refinery in the south, sharing of oil revenue is likely to continue after secession, but the two sides are debating whether it will remain at roughly 50-50.

The international community has spent billions of dollars to develop the south, and will continue to do so if it secedes.

But the establishment of new state institutions may mean new bureaucratic hurdles for donors already struggling to circumvent endemic corruption.

Since the peace deal, with donor help, the south has set up 29 ministries, built 6,000 km of rudimentary roads, quadrupled school attendance and stamped out outbreaks of polio and measles, according to Lisa Grande, U.N. humanitarian chief in the south.

But south Sudan starts off as one of the poorest parts of the world, which has been embroiled in conflict for all but a few years since 1955.

"(In 2005) there wasn't a functioning school system, there wasn't a functioning health system. So you are talking about constructing a system from the ground up," Grande said.

Private enterprise is severely limited by the lack of infrastructure -- the south has just 60 km of asphalted roads.

CAN THE SOUTH MAINTAIN SECURITY?

Tribal rivalries continue to dominate domestic politics, as groups freely arm themselves with guns left over from the war.

Renegade army generals and southern militias allied with the north clash sporadically with southern government forces.

In addition, the Ugandan rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) has staged cross-border attacks from the Democratic Republic of Congo, displacing thousands and halting agricultural projects in the fertile belt.

But of most concern is the north-south conflict, which continues to bubble close to the surface. Clashes in Malakal and the still disputed oil-rich Abyei region have broken the ceasefire since 2005.

Diplomats and intelligence sources say the West and Africa cannot afford to have another Somalia in east Africa, and will spare no expense to prevent an independent southern Sudan becoming a failed state.

But Abyei is far from being resolved, and many believe it will remain a bone of contention and perhaps even spark a return to conflict.

A new war between two states might prove more devastating than the guerrilla insurgency of the civil war, which claimed 2 million lives, drove 4 million from their homes and destabilised much of east Africa.

"The south has a much more developed and conventional military than it did a decade ago, meaning that a new war would be much more destructive than previous ones. This is certainly a deterrent to both sides," said Gustafson.

The U.N. peacekeeping force has been helping to train south Sudan's police and army, but has so far not been able to prevent clashes. (Reporting by Jeremy Clarke, Editing by Opheera McDoom and Kevin Liffey)

Jonglei (Borglobe)… unprecedented confrontation took place last Wednesday among wrestlers of Biong-Alian during a friendly contest – wrestling match. A root-cause of dispute came after of one the unnamed wrestlers grasped his opponent’s testis that ended in “punch in a head.”  Wrestlers from Biong were later confronted and disciplined through beating after a game at a cattle station, in Kolmerek by Alian’s wrestlers who were considered to be many at the time according to the Bor County police statement.

Khartoum (Borglobe)… Sudan People’s Liberation Movement, the official ruling party in South Sudan said on Monday that it would accept a member of National Congress Party (NCP) to take a key post if a deputy could come from the south.
Yaser Arman, SPLM’s senior official said his party looking forward for referendum to be held on time as scheduled on January 9, 2011.

However, the Head of referendum commission Mohamed Ibrahim Khalil told Reuters the five southerners in the nine-member commission would vote as a block to prevent a northerner taking the post of secretary general, who would control the commission's funds.
The referendum is the climax of a 2005 north-south peace deal ending Africa's longest civil war, which claimed an estimated two million lives (Reuters).