Capacity Building Is About Money

August 26, 2007 - Beside the almighty corruption and institutionalized nepotism, one of the most widely acknowledged barriers to services delivery and infrastructural development in Post War Southern Sudan is the lack of human resources capacity in the nascent institutions of the Government of Southern Sudan (GOSS). So far, this two years experience has taught the unforgettable lesson that unlike war time institutions which mostly require only manual implements to mutilate, post war institutions demand technical know how to build for a sustainable development. This new phenomenon has deeply challenged the conflict –weary nation that has lost about two generations of its population to illiteracy over the war years. Researches conducted by some NGOS in the year 2005 have concluded that adequately skilled cadres are scarce both in quantity and quality in Post War Southern Sudan. According to that finding, whatever the few we had prior to 1983 have either been displaced to the north or to resettlement in foreign countries during the war. Subsequently, the technical and professional crème of Southern Sudan has been and is still serving other nations as doctors, teachers, accountants, nurses, professors, lawyers, counselors, engineers e.t.c.

Faced with this challenging reality, L.T General Salva Kiir Mayardit, the President of the Government of Southern Sudan( GOSS) has been on records every since calling upon the skilled diasporants to come home and help in the process of constructing the development of their country( mostly from the scratch). In response, a good number of Southern Sudanese expatriates have come home leaving behind lucrative businesses, gainful employments and promising academic endeavors in their various countries of residencies. The goal along this direction: (developing the country) is widely shared. Ironically, the perceptions and expectations are quite conflicting. To some, it is a gold rush. Yet to some, it is a sacrifice one must make to give back to his/her country. In the process, some have made economic gains they could never make in their countries of exile. The very proxy nature of the post conflict environment provided cheap political and business opportunities that for some have made early homecoming an unimaginable fortune. Unfortunately, for the skilled majority employed or not, it has been a plunge to the poverty line. For example, those who used to make about $3,000.00 ( US Dollars /month in the countries of their exile have come down to only $200.00( US Dollars) /month. Worse still is the fact that some have come home with good degrees and skills but could not access employment as our infant Government of Southern Sudan does not have a set mechanism to accommodate and absorb the returning technocrats.

We of course do not need any reminder that we as a people have dearly paid in term of blood and sweat to attain our own Government (GOSS). Thus, delivering desperately needed services such as health care, education, roads, social services and economic development is a moral obligation that ought not to be driven by material motives but rather by the moral psyche of the people concerned. Paradoxically though, it is said in corporate America that it is about money even if it is not about money. In another word, money calls the shot even when it is not about money. Paradoxical isn’t it? Yes, it is.Neverthless, it is still about money at least in my book. Othewise, tell me that a medical doctor or a university professor who earns 10,000 dollars/month will easily come home to earn only 600 dollars/month. Yes, some have made that sacrifice: leaving the lands of plenty for the land of poverty. In fact, I personally know of a medical doctor who turned down a deal of 16, 000. 00 (US Dollars)/month in a foreign country for an amount of $800.00/month as a Director General in the Ministry of Health/GOSS. I also know of many young educated diasparants who have left gainful employments for extreme poverty as civil servants both in the GOSS and GONU. Perhaps, this has earned someone good citizenship standing, but the question is: how many will make that sacrifice? Let us face it folks; there is no fun without funds. Thence, I will maintain that it is about money.

It is about money when we speak of leaving behind unpaid school loans, home mortgage payments and family responsibilities in foreign lands. It is about money when one is compelled to spend more than he/she earns in an economy where you either have or you don’t. It is about money where the law makers in Southern Sudan Legislative Assembly have made laws to pay themselves a way higher than civil servants who are not only the technicians and engineers of the nation building but also the foot soldiers of services delivery. It is about money when the government can not retire old technocrats beyond retirement ages to make room for young technocrats simply because there is no money in the National Pension Fund to pay some of these people who have been serving this country since 1960s.It is about money when the government is still paying ghost employees in some part of our vast country due to lack of efficient technical machinery to control corruption as we know it these days. It is about money where the government is entirely dependent on only oil revenues due to lack of technical capacity to collect other revenues in the form of taxes and custom duties.

The counter argument against this point in private conversations this author involved in has always been that the returning expatriates must not make a mistake of comparing these post conflict pastures in a third country with those greener ones in the developed west. That argument holds some water but the big picture is missed again as the issue is not that of comparison but that of developing an inclusive program which fundamentally addresses the basic needs of the retuning expatriates to ease their adjustment and integration into the public work force. Nothing more, nothing less. It is also misleading to assume that the human resources that need development are all in Diaspora as even these few home made we have here need development through further training and financial support.

In all fairness, the on-going call for skilled diasporants to come home is sincere and timely. So President Mayardit is on the right course at the right time. However, there must be a sound strategic planning for this noble project. Thus, the thinking behind it must be informed that post conflict reconstruction measures demand concerted efforts from all concerned to ensure that the process succeeds. It is essential to engage all stakeholders in the reconstruction process because when they do not have a stake in making adjustments, or in reforming political, economic and social relationships, then the process is likely to fail. Over and above this, other stakeholders such as the private sector and civil society can complement the weak capacity of a "war-weary" state through the unique comparative advantages that they wield. In my humble opinion, a collaborative partnership of the government, private sector and civil society can make a formidable team for successful post-conflict reconstruction program. There is a clear imperative for this kind of partnership if the current attempts to build competent human resources in Post-conflict Southern Sudan are to yield fruits. While partnership with civil society and the private sector is crucial to accomplish this collective goal, it is the state that should provide the broad framework within which all actors must operate and which will define the general developmental thrusts of the country. As usual, the government must take the lead in crafting a transparent and inclusive post-conflict reconstruction plan. In crafting the post war human resources development program, the Government of Southern Sudan must furnish the following instruments, remedies and structures:

A solid and consistent public policy to catalyze the inclusion of societal groups including the civil society and Diaspora community based organizations to give their professional inputs in the ongoing human resources development program. The Diaspora community based agencies could not only help professionally and technically, but they could also help to mobilize other financial resources to bail the government out from its current lack of funds for human resources development. They can also initiate partnerships with international governmental and none-governmental organizations to fill the gaps in term of supplementary income for highly qualified expatriates. This could not only attract the Diaspora professionals but also motivate the existing ones in the field to extend their tenures. benefits such as housing assistance, school loans deferment or pay offs for those who commit themselves to at least four years of civil service in Southern Sudan could also help. A better or higher pay scale for civil servants not only to attract the best calibers to civil service but also to curve financial corruption among currently underpaid civil service professionals could also save the day.

A competent and financially self-sufficient directorate within the Ministry of Public Service and Human Resources Development or an independent manpower development commission charged with creating a conducive mechanism to absorb the returning professionals.

An innovative program of government subsidies and loans to encourage private entrepreneurship for the returning diasporants who are interested in private sector. Of course, economic development needs self-sufficient private sector. Hence, the common mistake that government a lone can shoulder the responsibilities of development must be corrected. GOSS must also see to it that firms led or owned by Southern Sudanese young entrepreneurs are given priority when it comes to development projects and contracts.

Last but not the least; our Southern Sudan Legislative Assembly must work harder to allocate sufficient funds within the government budget for Pension Fun in order to retire professional senior citizens. Our political leaders in the assembly must also enact enforceable anti despotism laws not only to ensure equity in the labour market but also to improve the quality and quantity of public technocracy in Southern Sudan Civil Service System. Ultimately, our GOSS must work harder to create strong skilled human resources base which is able to use our abundant natural resources according to the government program for economic development. Agree with me or not, unless some or all of the above proposals are heeded to, our government will be calling for diasporants to come home but only very few will response to fill the gaps, because capacity building is simply about money.