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Sudan Tribune

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Cash shortage threatens Sudan’s census

January 30, 2008 (JUBA) — Sudan’s census, vital ahead of the first democratic elections in 23 years, has not received the funding it needs, a senior southern Sudanese official said.

James Wani Igga, speaker of south Sudan’s parliament, also urged the international community not to “go to sleep” and neglect the landmark 2005 peace deal that ended a long-running conflict between the north and the south of the country.

He told Reuters late on Tuesday that while an agreement was reached in December to resolve a political deadlock between the former northern and southern foes, little has been implemented on the ground.

“It is very difficult really to promise you that it (the census) is going to be on track,” Igga said. Already delayed twice, it is now slated to begin on April 15.

“A small amount has been paid but that is not all the money that is needed,” he said. This could delay the census because it had not been possible to buy vehicles or hire and train staff.

May to September is rainy season in south Sudan and many areas are out of reach by road, making a census impossible. Elections are due next year under the north-south accord known as the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA).

But Igga said the northern National Congress Party (NCP) had agreed to reinsert questions in the census on ethnicity and religion, issues that fuelled Africa’s longest civil war.

Claiming 2 million lives, the conflict pitted Khartoum’s Islamist government against mainly Christian and animist southern rebels. The southerners rejected Khartoum’s policy of Arabisation and Islamisation during the conflict, which was complicated by disputes over oil resources.

‘NOTHING VISIBLE’

The SPLM froze its participation in the national coalition government in October in protest at the NCP’s reluctance to implement the peace deal. The two sides later agreed to fund the census, withdraw northern troops from the south and demarcate the border before the south rejoined the government.

“But so far nothing visibly has been resolved on the ground except for the issue of the Sudan Armed Forces redeployment … although it has not been 100 percent so far,” Igga said.

He said the most important priority for the international community, distracted from the CPA by a separate conflict in Sudan’s western Darfur region, was to refocus on the CPA through the Assessment and Evaluation Commission (AEC), of which he hoped Britain would take over the chair.

The AEC was set up to monitor the CPA and bring donors, the SPLM and the NCP together regularly to discuss progress.

“They (should not) relax that they already succeeded as the international community to bring peace and go to sleep,” Igga said after meeting Britain’s minister for Africa, Mark Malloch Brown. “The implementation is most important.”

Malloch Brown said the AEC could help improve transparency in the south, where allegations of corruption are rife and the SPLM accuses the NCP of not giving them their fair share of half the revenues from oil output of at least 500,000 barrels a day.

“People here … clearly are deeply suspicious as to whether they are getting the resources they deserve,” he told Reuters.

The minister said the AEC could also be a forum for the former foes to talk frankly and not “politically grandstand”.

He said action was needed now to support the CPA ahead of the elections in order to avert a return to war, which would be a disaster for the region.

Britain has promised over $100 million to develop Sudan in 2008, almost a quarter of the total bilateral pledges.

12 Comments

  • Panther
    Panther

    Cash shortage threatens Sudan’s census
    While I understand the need to remind those donors that have pledged to provide funds to support processes of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, I hope that our leaders also understand “one in the hand worth two in the bush”! Those pledges are not sustainable and should never be the deciding factor to whether the peace holds or not. Besides, Sudan is getting richer with oil’s prices sky-racketing–the census work should be getting funding from that if everyone is serious about it. Please, let show the world, at least, that we are capable of solving our outstanding problems by taking steps forward! I will volunteer to come do some work in the months of June 2008 to March 2009, if someone asks for it.

    Reply
  • Victoria Naculya
    Victoria Naculya

    Cash shortage threatens Sudan’s census
    you damn governors, why do you always realize thing at the last moment??????? You know what that shows, you are the dumbest and destructive governors I ever knew……… It seems like you do not put anything into consideration unless when you discover its shortage.

    Reply
  • Urbano Tito Tipo
    Urbano Tito Tipo

    Cash shortage threatens Sudan’s census
    This reply goes to the disgusted friend who called himself “Trueson of Southerner” The census is in crises the point I mentioned in the article of SS hope for unity in 2011. I hope this fellow can now understand the point I put forward. If the census fail then referendum will be uncertain. The political development is unvailing itself Mr. Trueson of Southerner. What will be the opinion of Mr. Trueson of Southerner in this regard.

    Reply
  • Toposa Boy southerner
    Toposa Boy southerner

    Cash shortage threatens Sudan’s census
    No official border between south and north there will be a census, problem you can not count people with out official border stop telling us about stupid census border ………border………border ………. First

    Reply
  • Gatwech
    Gatwech

    Cash shortage threatens Sudan’s census
    Of course border is an issue if we want a successful census which would reveal the real population in the South, otherwise some villages along the borderline might be counted to the northern population like some oil wells if there is no official and clear demarcated border between North and South.

    Cheers

    Reply
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