* Any views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.
There is no blueprint for state building and no successful examples of state building by the international community. Yet that’s what we have to do in southern Sudan.
The statistics are grim; when the Comprehensive Peace Agreement was signed in 2005, there was less than 20 km of paved roads in an area larger that Kenya and Uganda combined. Nearly 90 percent of the population was illiterate, and less than 30 percent had access to health services.
Today, half the jobs in the public service are still vacant, and half the government employees have only primary education. Many police officers can’t read or write. Judges often hold hearings under trees.
But people expect that the new country will provide enough food and water for all; that medical services and schools will be available; and that families, property and livestock will be protected.
How can the government provide sophisticated public services when less than 5 percent of its employees have university education?
Yet there are real signs of hope.
Various programmes have been launched since 2005 to professionalize the public service.
The Ministry of Finance of Central Equatoria State is just across the street from UNDP in Juba. When we arrived, many staff couldn’t perform basic functions. We embedded two advisors there whose job was to help make the institution work. This year, the annual budget prepared by the ministry has already been approved by the state parliament.
We now have financial specialists working in all ten states. Three years ago, there were still states that had never had a budget – this year, all ten states have budgets!
HELP FROM OUTSIDE
Having a functioning ministry of finance is a fundamental building block of any government. If a ministry of finance is not capable of allocating resources for paying teachers’ salaries, developing curriculums and maintenance of schools, then the education system won’t work. The same applies to managing health, security, and other sectors.
But the lack of skilled personnel cuts across the whole administration. Last year, the government and international partners identified six core government functions that must be operational by July: executive leadership; security; rule of law; management of public finances; public administration; and management of natural resources.
With support from Canada, we placed more than 100 accountants, treasurers, engineers, police trainers, IT experts and other professionals in the Government of Southern Sudan, and in all ten states. These experts are working side-by-side with local civil servants until they are able to take over.
We’re now preparing to deploy 200 more civil servants from Ethiopia, Kenya, and Uganda, supported by Norway.
Recently a woman in Lakes State told me she needs her kids to be safe when they leave for school and she must be safe when she goes to the market. “What I really need is more government in my life,” she concluded.
She confirmed that we’re focusing on the right issues. For the rule of law to function, it is essential that the government has systems for allocating public money in an accountable and transparent manner to finance courts, prisons and police.
It will require a long term commitment but we can win this battle and help the government stand on its own after independence.
