AU Summit: South Sudan metaphor for crises in Africa

The recent flare-up of deadly violence in South Sudan makes for a metaphor of crises as the AU Summit continues in Kigali. And, with tension and the possibility of fresh fighting in Juba, where a shaky ceasefire has held since Monday, it is the millstone around AU’s neck that the August 2015 Compromise Peace Agreement that put in place the Transitional Government of National Unity must hold. The fighting that raged for four days in Juba leaving hundreds dead and forcing nearly 50,000 to flee their homes is a reminder of the challenges AU has been unable to resolve, from the continued violent incidents in the Central African Republic to the refugee crisis and spate of killings that have rocked Burundi since President Pierre Nkurunziza announced his bid for a third term in April 2015. It puts a big dent to AU’s goal of bringing peace to the continent by 2020. But that the violence should occur now is also an affront not only to the AU, but to the East African Community. While there’s some finger pointing about which side may have started it between the camps aligned to President Salva Kiir and Vice President Riek Machar, it cannot be taken kindly that the violence took place when it did, where it did. With the AU Summit being held in the EAC where South Sudan is a new member, it has been viewed as unbecoming and not unlike an insult by a family member to valued guests in whose honour an important village meeting your homestead has been privileged to host. The violence is unacceptable and should be high on the agenda. As the summit winds down, the 27th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union will be held tomorrow and Monday, while the Peace and Security Council meeting of heads of state and government is also in the cards. The AU Peace and Security Council (PSC) is charged with prevention, management and resolution of conflicts on the continent. The South Sudan crisis should loom large in the PSC meeting against the AU consideration to send neutral troops to the country as a buffer to prevent potential wide scale violence. Despite President Kiir’s protests against it, having troops in Juba will be prudent, if only for the sake of the hapless populace and the country’s shattered economy. Economic reports indicate that prices of goods and services have soared since 2011, with inflation running at almost 300 per cent, and the currency slumping by 90 per cent this year. A kilogramme of sugar that used to cost eight South Sudanese pounds now costs 30, while a 50-kilogramme bag of white flour that once sold for 180, now costs 1,200. Let’s just say that the AU, as well as the EAC is necessarily its brother’s keeper. And at only five years old as an independent nation, and three months since officially becoming a member of the EAC, South Sudan is a very young nation that must be carefully watched and shepherded. Otherwise, mired in the uncertainties of violence or the threat of it, the young country may never find its feet in the world. It is for this reason that South Sudan is also a metaphor to the challenge the AU must rise up to if it is to realise the core Pan-African values informing its mission of unity, cooperation, solidarity and self-reliance as well as thinking and acting Pan-African in attending to challenges before it. It is about aspirations of Agenda 2063, which, as espoused by the AU Summit in Kigali, include “an integrated continent, politically united, based on the ideals of Pan-Africanism and the vision of Africa’s Renaissance.” The renewed fighting in South Sudan may only be an incident in an unfortunate continuum of violence marring the continent, but, if tackled right, it could be an opportune and important step towards bringing peace to all of African by 2020. It is up to the AU Summit not to waver and do its bit by firmly rising up to its mandate while in Kigali.

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AU Summit: South Sudan metaphor for crises in Africa