The African Executive congratulates The Republic of Southern Sudan for becoming Africa’s newest State after 49 years of civil war. The young nation must take deliberate measures to guard this hard-won independence.

Since southern Sudanese have either been fighting a war or fleeing it for over two decades, the new Republic doubtlesslessly faces gaps in public and private sector technical capacity. It is wise that the young nation taps into its Diaspora and international goodwill.

The new government must ensure that all Sudanese are equal stakeholders in the affairs of their nation irrespective of their religion, race, tribe or gender. It must maximize the advantages of its diverse society by ensuring broad representation in leadership positions, allocation of public resources and in the spread of government amenities to all parts of the country.

About 80% of essential services in southern Sudan are provided by NGOs. While the role of NGOs is critical, southern Sudan’s intellectuals, businesspeople and policy-makers must guard against NGO related developmental and political onslaughts that might render the young nation static and desperate. They should also mark top government officials who accept ‘bribe-for-silence’ from international institutions to allow them loot Southern Sudan’s wealth with impunity.

Self-determination whether in the north or south, should not be a struggle for power but rather a competition on providing good governance, development, delivering social services to the people and restoring the dignity and wealth of every Sudanese. Northern and Southern Sudanese are not ordinary neighbours. They have generations of a shared history and need each other. Stability within the two nations will lead to regional stability.

While African governments, the African Union, international development institutions and the international community ought to invest significantly in a democratic, religiously tolerant and transparently managed Southern Sudan, it is upon the young nation to invest in developing its people to lead the nation to greater heights of prosperity.