Economy Shrouded by Insecurity in South Kordofan
16 February, 2015KHARTOUM (SUDANOW)—South Kordofan is rated among the Sudan's richest states as regards the economic resources but is in short of security and stability because it is one of the Two Areas, along with the Blue Nile, where the rebellion has continued after the secession of South Sudan in 2011.
SUDANOW Magazine sat down with South Kordofan Governor, Engineer Adam Al-Fakki Mohamed al-Tayeb, for an interview on various issues connected with his State.
The dialogue ran as follows:
SUDANOW: Can you give us a briefing on the economic privileges in South Kordofan State?
Governor: South Kordofan is one of the Sudan's richest states with more than 30 million cultivable feddans (acres), including more than four million feddans (acres) of horticultural farms and it possesses the country's biggest gum Arabic stock while the remaining forests in Sudan are in South Kordofan. The State is suitable for rain-fed cotton plantation as the rainfall ranges between 100 to 600 mm, with cotton ginning mills existing in South Kordofan. Adding the minerals, the State possesses abundant economic resources which are only in need of peace and stability.
َQ: How do you assess the security situation in South Kordofan in general?
A: The security situation in South Kordofan is excellent. The State consists of 17 localities including eight in the eastern region, seven localities of which are almost free of rebellion which is now confined to a narrow strip in Talsy region which is not more than 10x10 kilometers from the area of the eight localities. The situation, in our opinion, is now determined and the response to peace is great with some holders of arms beginning to hand over their weapons. As regards the southern region, there are three localities- Buram, Um Dorain and Haiban- under the rebellion, while the remaining localities enjoy excellent stability. We can say that the security situation, in general, is quite stable.
Q: South Kordofan State lies on the common borderline with South Sudan and is affected, directly or indirectly, with the developments there. What is your comment to this situation?
A: The present war in South Sudan began in 2013 while the rebellion in South Kordofan began in 1987 and continued until 2005, the date of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), and the present second war began on 6 June 2011. The first war, which was led by late Yusuf Kuwah was fought under the racist motto of "Jallabah (northerners) have to leave and the Baggarah (Arab herdsmen) have to follow suit" which means that the region should be left only to the Nubians.
The present war is being fought under the motto of "The New Sudan" which was originally raise by the South Sudanese SPLM of which the present SPLM-N was part and its supporters intended to implement this motto, believing that South Sudan would back them. But as soon as the South seceded, the motto of the New Sudan was dropped as reflected by the memorable remark by Bagan Amom, meaning: "We were fighting in solidarity (with the Nubians) and the solidarity has now come to an end." The fighters in South Kordofan therefore lost their aim, joined the Communist wave in the Sudan and allied with the Sudanese Revolutionary Front (SRF). This was the third phase of the war in South Kordofan where the rebels brought the SRF into the State and invaded Abu Karshoulah and Tagaly regions.
The rebellion inflicts on the people of South Kordofan all sorts of extreme suffering as reflected in the lack of education and health, displacement, homelessness, poverty, etc. The manner in which the war in the State in tackled must be changed and its purpose must be defined in a clear way so that it can be handled properly.
Q: Are there any refugees in the State who fled the fighting in South Sudan?
A: The common borderline is 540 km long with six localities on the border strip which are: Tarter, Abu Jibaihah, Gadir, Talody, Leery and Buram with the latter having the shortest borderline (18-19 km). Secondly, there are deep-rooted relations between the people on both sides of the common border and the incoming refugees were therefore accommodated in those border areas on the Sudanese side and, for this reason, there are no camps for the South Sudanese refugees who are now 12,800 in number in South Kordofan.
Q: How do you view the likelihood of reaching peace in South Kordofan and what efforts is the State exerting for this end?
A: Peace is the goal for every person and can be reached by dialogue, rather than war. However, the prerequisite for a lasting peace is a proper preparation of the society.
Q: What do you mean by preparation of the society for peace?
A: When the CPA was concluded, the society was not prepared for peace and this was reason for failure of the peace process in South Kordofan. There are a number of prerequisites for preparation of the society, foremost of which is transformation it into a civilian community with no arms, military uniform or any other sign reminiscent of wartime in sight on the streets and in the markets.
A second prerequisite is widening the radius of security which is the duty of the army and a third prerequisite is the rehabilitation and voluntary return of IDPs and refugees. The fourth condition is the provision of such basic services as education, health, water and electricity supplies. Creation of development projects and building infrastructures are also among the prerequisites for a lasting peace. The armed forces should be on hand in the vicinity of the liberated areas to protect the people and development projects against outlaws. Arrangements have now been made for organizing social peace conferences and restoration of the civilian life to normalcy in numerous localities of the State, while electric current has been stretched in many towns and villages and hundreds of kilometers of roads have been built.
A fund of 21 million pounds has been secured to start construction of Abu Karshoulah power station next March after which electrification will be stretched to the city and the surrounding villages. Also in early March, the President of the Republic will launch work on a circular electricity line between Um Rawabah, Abbasiyah, Rashad, Abu Jibaihah, Kaloge and Talody which will be ready in two years' time. The southern towns of the State, including Dibaibat, Hammadi and Dilling have already been electrified from the national grid which has reached South Kordofan for the first time.
As for the circular highway, the concerned Chinese company has shown willingness to resume work for finishing the remaining stretch of the road after it was paid 11 million dollars by the Government in compensation for the damage that was caused by an SPLM-N attack on its site destroying all of its machinery. The government also put in place a security plan for the safety of the personnel of the company.
Q: Despite its exceptional circumstance, South Kordofan is planning to participate in the forthcoming general elections. How far is the State prepared for this exercise?
A: There are 18 political parties in the State which will take part in the elections, while there are other parties (the National Umma, the Popular Congress, the Arab Ba'athist and the Communist) which are boycotting the elections. We had a meeting with the participant parties and discussed with them the manner in which the elections would be conducted, bearing in mind that the previous elections triggered the war and we do not want this to be repeated. The meeting came up with a code of ethics, to be signed by the participant parties, which provides for a smooth electoral campaign by the parties that must be free of any act of aggression that gives birth to grudges to ensure that the elections in the State are run in civilized way. The agreement on a code of ethics is a precedent that was not pursued by any other state and we expect the elections would be run in a quiet atmosphere.
There are three localities- Buram, Um Dorain and Haiban- in which the elections will not be organized, although a large number of the people of those localities reside in the capital Kadogle, but preparations have been completed for holding the elections in seven national constituencies and 18 state constituencies.
Q: Do you have any message for the people of South Kordofan, inside and out of the State?
A: My message to them is that there are three problems that must be resolved. The first question is that many sons of South Kordofan residing in the national capital (Khartoum) handle the issue of the State in a political way without being aware of the effect of this conduct on their people in the State. Secondly they also issue erroneous information which prevents the IDPs from returning to their villages, while some elements of the SPLM-N in the urban centers dissuade those IDPs from returning home, thus prolonging their stay away from their State which is in need of human resources. The third problem is related to identification of the demands of the State and finding the suitable solutions thereof such demands as expelling some tribes from the region cannot be fulfilled and must be handled in a logical way.
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