AU needs to help South Sudan clear its house

The big story in this lovely region of ours is the Rwandan hospitality that delegates as well as heads of state attending the African Union Summit are enjoying in Kigali. For many who have been hearing of Rwanda like a distant rumour, the summit has been an opportunity to touch, feel and smell the country and confirm that indeed a country can rise from the ashes to become a beacon of hope. The seriousness that comes with an event like an AU summit can only be tempered by a moment of pure laid back fun like the now famous #MuseveniChallenge that saw almost everyone striking a lazy pose by the roadside faking a phone call . The trend has clearly gone viral with even some big company brands not wanting to be left behind. Don’t you just love social media? However like any party mood, there are always the spoilers and there are no prizes for guessing who took up the challenge for spoiling the mood in East Africa. In Burundi, the East African Legislative Assembly MP, Hasfa Mossi was gunned down in Bujumbura, in a manner that we are unfortunately starting to get used to. These sad events in Burundi seem to be losing shock value barely going beyond a few social media posts before life continues like nothing wrong happened. Not to be outdone in this annoying championship of bad manners, our brothers in South Sudan literally fought to regain their place in the bloodied pages of instability. A space they seem unable to leave given that this is a very young country with a long history of civil war. The young nation could not even afford to celebrate its Independence Day as those with guns were firing off several rounds and plunging the country back into its deadly past. The London-based independent columnist, Gwynne Dyer whose works are syndicated in over 170 newspapers in 45 countries, choose to use his most recent column to remind people that South Sudan is not Africa. He laboured to contextualise the problems faced by South Sudan for those not in the know. I do agree with the celebrated Gwynne Dyer but I am starting to think that South Sudan is beginning to look like that creepy uncle that we may not fear pointing out as family but would be disturbed if we heard that our daughter spent a night at his home. It is disturbing that other East Africans have to be evacuated from Juba each time the boys with guns feel it is time to fire off some rounds. The big businesses like airlines are also suffering with cancelled flights and thinned staff numbers as they try to wait out the most recent episode of madness. It must be tough being a CEO of a big company operating in Juba or larger South Sudan. How do you factor in the re-emergence of war and how it will affect your business projections almost each year unless you are in the arms industry? Like I said above, Bujumbura and Juba are in this same spot – a spot where development gets clouded by the gun powder that their people have to deal with regularly. Most of East Africa has had troubled pasts but a time comes when it is only wise to put down the guns and pick up the spades to rebuild a nation. Development cannot be expected amidst endless conflict. As a community, Burundi and South Sudan will continue lagging behind if peace and stability remain a myth in these places. Freedom of movement of people, goods and services is a key pillar for the EAC project. However this pillar is being undermined by the insecurity that East Africans face in these places compelling many to leave behind their fledgling businesses. It is painful to see countries with a lot of promise seeming like the other creepy or drunkard uncle we cannot disown and yet we fear even being in family pictures with. These two countries need to get their act together and move along with us towards prosperity. The assumption here is that those not undergoing any conflict will also do their best not to slip back into conflict. We cannot expect people to join hands and work for the development of their nations when basic needs like security are not guaranteed. Much us we don’t want Juba and Bujumbura to be that other uncle, the other relatives have to do more to help the two nations get back on track.

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AU needs to help South Sudan clear its house