In this second part of Radio Tamazuj’s exclusive interview with Upper Nile State Governor James Odhok Oyai, he delves into the issue of payment of salaries and says senior officials deplete the state’s limited resources by traveling frequently.
He also says he abhors the practice of spreading unfounded rumors and appeals to the citizens of Upper Nile State to desist from promoting tribal animosity and division, and instead work for unity, peace, and development. The governor says there is relative peace in Malakal and that if it holds till November, the people in the Protection of Civilian (POC) site will hopefully return to their homes in the town.
Below are edited excerpts:
Q: Some of your party members have been accusing you of side-lining them saying you have not been paying their allowances. How do you react to this accusation?
A: This is the nature of human beings. Even your children at home, whatever you do for them, they will have a different opinion. Upper Nile state, for me, is the best state in South Sudan in terms of allowances. We are aware that many officials in other states are suffering from the current economic situation. Our officials are given allowances from the percentage of the oil and we yet pay their salaries and other services as well.
Every minister is supposed to be aware of the ongoing economic situation in the country. They should not attack the governor for not giving them money because they should know what is going on in the country. If we have money in the state, why do we stay for more than six months without getting our salaries? This is the situation that should be accepted by us as government officials. I can understand the cry of our citizens but not the government officials.
Some of those officials are even making the state government broke. A single minister would be set to travel three to four times a month at the expense of the government and yet the government has only little revenue to keep us running. That is apart from MPs. We do not have road transportation at the moment. We depend on flights which are paid in hard currency. This will affect the state economy. We did not refuse to pay them but we kept on telling them that when our economic situation in the country is settled, everybody will be given his or her rights following the law.
South Sudanese have developed this habit of laziness and they expected the governor to keep on paying them, including citizens in their houses. This was not the situation here in Malakal when we were young. In early times, it was difficult to visit the house of the governor. That was not something easy. But now under this tree where we are sitting, many people come in the morning and evening. The majority of them do not even ask me about my health. They keep on telling you stories such as their children are sick, their wives are going through labor, and they need some money. If I do not give them money, they will go and tell others that I am not a generous governor.
Q: You are still the governor for all of them by law, right?
A: Yes. But I cannot please everyone by giving them money. This would be treated as a corruption case.
Q: What are some of the challenges faced by your administration?
A: Our country is full of rumors, especially here in Upper Nile State, everybody creates rumors that are far from the truth. I want to encourage the Upper Nile intellectuals and politicians to enlighten our citizens about this. Anybody who is in power is keen to protect his people and provide them with services such as security, health, and education. This is the responsibility given by the country’s constitution. I am surprised with some comments from our people in Upper Nile who speak with no sense of responsibility.
I want to tell our politicians that power does not last for anybody. Some governors ruled this state before me and I will also serve and go. We want this country to be stable so that when another governor comes, he finds that the country is stable and peaceful. If there is something that we did not finish, he will come and begin at the point where we end.
When I assumed this office, I told all the five tribes in Upper Nile that they were all equal before the law. There is no tribe which is less than the other. South Sudan’s constitution also stipulates that every citizen of the country can live wherever they intend to. That is why there are tribes from other parts of the country currently living here in Upper Nile and that is their constitutional right. Upper Nile is for all South Sudanese.
So, I have been telling our people that rumors will not allow us to develop and tribalism will only bring death among ourselves. Whenever anybody dies, we will not see him or her again. That is why we have been advocating for peace and stability so that our children can go to school, access health services, and live in a good environment.
I do not think there is anybody who has an intention to leave a bad legacy during their term of office. If you leave a bad legacy, people will always speak of you and they won’t forget. That is why, no leader has an intention to separate people, instead, they want to unite the people and bring them together.
During our meeting this week, we agreed with the deputy governor that we should sit with all tribal leaders in Upper Nile and try to encourage them not to listen to rumors. If we decide to fight here in Upper Nile again, we will have no place to go. You have seen what happened to Sudan and that is why we don’t want to take Malakal to square one.
When we came here, there was no place to live, not even under a tree. Now, people can stay in the market up to 1 a.m. night. And those in the Protection of Civilians (POC) site are now able to stay up to 10 p.m.
We have spoken to our people who are in the POC site and told them that if the security situation remains stable until November, they will come out and stay in their homes. We are also conveying this message to aid organizations. We have established several police posts at Hai Matar, Luwakat, and central sectors and that is why we requested additional police personnel which are composed of all the tribes of Upper Nile.
We now have a batch of police forces under training based on the instructions of the Minister of Interior and the Inspector General. We need police that represent all tribes of Upper Nile so that people see themselves there. They are being trained to protect citizens and their property.
Recently, some of them were brought to clean the State House and I could see different positive behavior among them. We are looking forward to their graduation and their deployment in different locations so that they will provide our people with protection and this will allow our people to come back and live in the town.
Q: We have heard some rumors that you are not on good terms with the State Legislative Assembly over the vote of no confidence raised by your supporter and the commissioner of Manyo County, Peter Awan. How true is this?
A: This is a false information and is incorrect. Some procedures happened at the Legislative Assembly and some members of the SPLM-IO protested at some point. But I told them that any majority vote in the parliament is legal and you cannot protest against any voting after you have registered your names in the attendance list and you participated in the voting. I had some reservations on some points but we have resolved that through a meeting with the speaker. So, the rumors that say I don’t have good interactions with the parliament are not true.
Last Saturday, all the heads of specialized committees and cabinet had a meeting here at the State House and we had an interactive meeting. I encouraged them to denounce violence, rumors, and conspiracy. We spoke during the meeting as sons and daughters of Upper Nile and we said a vote of no confidence should be a last resort. We can advise the person to improve their performance.
We are serving here based on the peace agreement which is the highest reference for the current government more than the constitution itself. That is why we resolved that if our legislatures are divided along their parties, that will negatively affect our people. That is why the unity of our MPs, cabinet, and all other government units of Upper Nile should be the priority.
Q: When do we expect the replacements for the commissioners of Maban and Manyo counties?
A: These two counties are under the leadership of the SPLM-IO and we are in consultation with the leadership in Juba to announce the replacements any time now.