Turabi's Wife calls NCP leaders corrupt

Always the firebrand, Hassan Turabi's wife is not one to be left out:

Wisal Al-Mahdi wife of Islamist leader Hassan al-Turabi told the pro-SPLM newspaper Ajras Al-Hurriya in an interview that the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) “demonstrated greed for money and power”.

Al-Mahdi said that NCP figures contributed to the downfall of the Islamic ideology in Sudan “who built palaces and luxurious homes and ride private jets”.

Abyei, the North, and the Durability of the Peace

Certainly the most contentious component of the North-South peace is the dispute over the boundary. The disposition of the town of Abyei - and on who's side of the boundary it lies - compresses the contention into a smaller and more volatile piece of real estate. Certainly that Abyei and its environs hold oil reserves, and that both sides have ratcheted up the "never-back-down" rhetoric, hasn't added anything but fuel to this fire.

The Comprehensive Peace Agreement of 2005 created a process to address the North-South boundary delineation and the status of Abyei. For a number of reasons (lack of a strong Assessment and Evaluation Committee, focused outside parties, keeping pressure on both parties, personalities, etc.), the CPA-detailed path didn't achieve the outcomes it was designed to; the North rejected the process when it was determined not in their favor.

Fortunately, both parties agreed to take the matter to the Hague for binding arbitration in mid-2008. This single act might be recognized as the most significant step in resolving this flashpoint issue, and thus maintaining the North-South peace. I don't think this can be understated.

Read more about it here.

Government of Southern Sudan: progression or regression?

I am a natural pessimist when it comes to any governments activities, be they Western, Eastern or African governments.

My observations of the Government of Southern Sudan (GOSS for short) are pretty straightforward; in the time since it was inaugurated I believe the GOSS continues to improve. Slowly, steadily, plodding ever forward, but it is improving. Here are a few tidbits to support that idea.

• Recent budget constraints caused by the drop in oil prices caused the GOSS to show a great deal of financial restraint and responsibility. They lowered government salaries, lowered government spending across the board and imposed other austerity measures. Conversely, the Government of National Unity is mulling taking on more debt from China and raising VAT and "development" taxes.

• A day does not pass without the GOSS officials I see mentioning the coming elections. The discussions usually center around the concepts of transparency, timeliness, adhering to the CPA, and most importantly, conducting elections that hold up their end of the social compact they have with the people they govern. A number of other governments in this region have different opinions on the use and conduct of elections, much of which involves the practice of exclusion, tension, censorship, and tribalism.

• The GOSS, particularly the senior administration officials reflexively fall back to the concepts of inclusion and maintain a sensitivity about regionalism and tribalism. Simply put, they do a pretty good job of not exacerbating tribal tensions. I happen to think this behavior/practice is a holdover from the civil war -- their opponents in the north used the age-old tribal tensions and prejudices to split the southerners and the SPLA/SPLM leaders worked hard to compensate for that.
  

These are just three examples I can think of. Readers are encouraged to post their thoughts here too!

It's a Juba First!

We are proud to be a part of Southern Sudan Beverages’ unveiling of its flagship brewery in Juba, South Sudan. SSBL’s impact on the community, the economy and morale of this country will be nothing less than monumental.

DR&A has been a proud advisor/consultant to SSBL during the process of its market research, due diligence, planning, government relations, community interface and land acquisition processes. It’s been a great experience and we’re ready to get our teeth in to the next big project.

Hit our email in the side column to see if we can help make things happen for your organization here in Southern Sudan.

News story: South Sudan embarks on developing local entrepreneurs

Good news for Southern Sudan's entrepreneurs:

November 23, 2008 (JUBA) – An amount of $12 million US dollars has been earmarked by the Government of Southern Sudan towards the development of private business entrepreneurship in the semi-autonomous region.

The Minister of Commerce and Industry, Anthony Lino Makana, had presented to the cabinet his Ministry’s proposed project for next year to support and help develop small and medium size local business entrepreneurs in Southern Sudan.

Read the rest here.

Land and Southern Sudan

Land aquisition in Southern Sudan is a less-than-straightforward affair in Southern Sudan. One of the civil war's many impacts is certainly in the way land is treated, both in a transactional and possessive sense. In short, land ownership and transferral is a mix of old and new, clear and opaque, and local vs. state issues.

There is currently an effort to produce a Land Act from the Southern Assembly, but the process is moving very slowly and the bill may not meet the expectations of all parties (e.g. the government policy makers and the land holders/occupants). We hope to see some movement on the bill in early 2009, but that is still up in the air.

A few rules of thumb I've witnessed is that the closer the land is to an urban area, the more involved the acquisition process is. The more the government is involved (I meant GOSS), the harder the process will be. Individual communities are the occupants of the land and have the most say in its use/disposal. Unoccupied land isn't always unused land; South Sudan's pastoralist and farming cultures hold and utilize lands at different times of year and in different environmental circumstances. You cannot acquire land from a distance, you will have to be there, on site, to negotiate. Final tidbit: get someone who knows the terrain and has experience before embarking on a large land acquisition. It will save time, money and your reputation in dealing with the communities in which you desire to enter.

Finally, a great volume of patience is necessary. Most communities and individuals do not have the experience of having conducted a long term lease transaction or outright sale of land. They often believe their land is much more valuable than outsiders would believe. Negotiation is critical as is dialogue and clarity. Most will not sell or lease land without intimate knowledge of the project you want to use the land for.

Sanctions: What's the deal?

Every multinational company that wants to do business in Southern Sudan has its counsel nagging it about US government sanctions. If you listen to the explanations/intent and deconstruction of the sanctions policy and implementation, it is a lawyer's fantasy; full of caveats, conditions, clearance processes, but thin on the reality of this regions' common standards and practices for business.

Here's a link to a US government page that has updated definitions of the bilateral sanctions regime (that means only the US government applies them to Sudan and for the most part only US citizens/businesses are obliged to observe them). One thing is for certain, read carefully the first sentence:

Are you a U.S. individual, firm, or business entity seeking to do business in Sudan?

If you answer yes, then keep reading. If not, get back to work!