Do Ministers belong to the Party or to the Government?
- Details
- Created on Sunday, 14 October 2007 19:09
- Written by James Okuk Solomon
The above question might look dull but it makes someone who answers it wrongly to look obtuse. For someone to answer this question well, it is sine qua non that he understands and differentiates between the government and the political party. The political party can become a government if it takes hold of the state powers but a government cannot become a political party even if it loses its powers. If one political party becomes a government then a country becomes a mono-party state. It two political parties become a government then a country becomes a bipartite-state. If more than one party become a government then a country become a multiparty-state ruled by government of national unity. The status quo of the Sudan today falls under the last category.
Though the government is branched into Legislative, Executive and Judiciary, it has become common that the Executive arm is what is referred to when people talk of government. The CPA provides that prior to mid-term elections: 1) the legislative institution at the national level shall be shared thus: 52% to NCP and 14% to other Northern political forces, and 28% to SPLM and 6% to Other Sothern forces; 2) the Executive Institution shall have the same shares but with 2 NCP over 1 SPLM in the Presidency. The percentage of the other sectors of the Executive (e.g. Security, Police, Civil Service, etc.) have not been specified but are supposed to be equitably representative of the people of Southern Sudan and other marginalized areas of Northern Sudan. The main duty of GoNU shall be the promotion of national unity, defense of the national sovereignty, and implementation of the CPA, among others.
However, the dilemma which is still haunting the CPA is the mismatch between the mentalities of some of the leaders who have negotiated it and the transition that has taken place after. Some of the SPLM leaders, members and supporters still behave as if they were still a pseudo-government that had controlled the liberated areas before the CPA was reached; they still have hangovers of the past movement authority in spite of the transformation of the SPLM into a political party. Likewise some of the leaders, members and supporters of the NCP still behave as if they were the only party in the government who take decisions on their own whims. This mismatch has been there from day-one when SPLM and NCP decided to become partners in the government in all its levels (National, Southern and States). In Juba last week SPLM stated that they have suspended the activities of their presidential advisors, ministers, and ministers of state in the GoNU until the pending issues of the CPA implementation have been eased. This statement might look appealing to an ordinary citizen who is not happy with the NCP but it looks juvenile for someone who is neutral or the one who is not happy with the SPLM. Do those advisors and ministers belong to SPLM or to the State? In other word, are they ministers in the SPLM or ministers of in the government of the State (country)? What I know is that those people became advisors and ministers when they took the state constitutional oath for the government and so they are not minsters of the SPLM, though they were recommended by SPLM to those executive constitutional posts. It would have looked rational if SPLM could have stated that it was suspending its cadres who are ministers in the government rather than saying it has suspended its ministers.
It has also became clear from the statements of the official spokesperson of SPLM that the main concern for that political strike was the reshuffle of the ministerial positions that are held by the SPLM cadres in the GoNU, particularly, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs which is headed by H.E. Dr. Lam Akol. The justification which has been presented for the reshuffle is treacherous: Is it a crime if NCP commends a good work of a SPLM cadre in any ministry? Is it also a betrayal if SPLM commends a good work of a NCP cadre in any ministry? Yes, it is the right of SPLM party to be represented in GoNU by its preferred cadres but it is also the right of the President of the Republic of the Sudan to reject the nominated SPLM member if he finds his records risky for the national interest even if agreeable to the SPLM interests. The President is the only one who has constitutional powers to issue appointment or relieve decrees at the GoNU level. Even if he consult and receive recommendations from other parties who share the government with him, still he is the only one who has the final say in forming his government. Therefore, it looks babyish when some SPLM say they have formed the GoNU in Juba and will forward the list to the president for announcement before they call off the suspension strike.
I am sure that the reshuffle will not solve the real problems facing the delay of the implementation of Abyei Protocol, the demarcation of South-North borders of 1/1/1956, the withdrawal of SAF in Oil fields in the South, the population census funding, the commitment and honesty for development of Southern Sudan, etc. It will only solve the problems of those who would want to become ministers, state ministers and presidential advisors. Is this all what CPA is about - positions and perpetual reshuffles? If this is the way Joshua is leading us to the Promised Land, I am not amused totally.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
James Okuk is a Sudanese and a PhD student in the University of Nairobi. He can be reached at: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Newer news items:
Older news items:
- BREAKING NEWS- SPLM suspends its participation in Khartoum government - 11/10/2007
- Sudanese community in Australia in the media spotlight - 07/10/2007
- All Sudanese People world wide Should be connected online - 05/10/2007
- Salva Kiir makes new adjustments in SPLM's political bureau - 04/10/2007
- African refugees not to come to australia - 04/10/2007
-
16-10-2007 10:02:54 |Unregistered| Pagan Bol
Okuki your arguments are interesting challenging and provoke a deep search for genuineness. Let me try to give my reaction.
Ministers are genetically fomred in the party, they are born in the party, they gorw and live their political career in the party. Being a minister is only temporal and must be dictated by the fundamental guiding principles and values or the political orientation of the party. Anyone in the party who does not agree with the party policies is out of place. For me this is a question of credibility, coherence and loyalty. Is the party truthful to the millions that believe in its values or not? It must protect her political program in response to the aspirations of the people, otherwise it will extinct. People will go away, since they feel misguided and cheated.
This is important at this moment of the turn in the history of Sudan face by two options: being democratic or disintegrate. Democratic that’s multi-party where consensus on the program scrupolously implemented gives duration to the government. Each party must enact a control system over its minster’s performance and faithfulness to the party and the program of the governement.
The crisis between the SPLM and NCP is a common reaction in the multi-party system democracies. It is not the first time we hear that the party withdrew from the government. The some clear examples are Isreal and Italy and Germany and lately Ucraine.
But in my opinion the question is another: Are all our politicians guide by principles, values or by cheap political whishes that is contented by having a big table in front of them? As that women who was very happy because her husband has a big table in front of him in the office. I think we must leap beyond the fight for seats or posts, to fight for genuine politics of rapresentation. This means A politician is not of his own making but of the people for whom he must be ready to sacrifice even the best office or minsitry he holds.
Since time pass even people pass with it, the real issue for me is tomorrow. I think we must deepen our dailogue looking at other aspects: such as the democratic formation of the future political class: their formation, the contents of that formation, the core values upon which non of them can encroach or the guiding values of our nation.
Latest News/Articles
The step taken by SPLM was not a shock to many observers as the disputes and misunderstanding between two parties are countinuing since the CPA was signed. I would like to comment on the topics highlighted by Mr James Okuk, the ministers are the cadres of SPLM and they have been nominated by SPLM to the positions they holding now, hence, SPLM has a right to recall them back and make reshuffle whenever they want, but the argument is on the reasons for reshuffle, if it is because of poor performance of some SPLM' cadres in GoNU it will be labelled as a constructive step and away forward but if because some ministers (of SPLM) have been appreciated and highly evaluated for their good performance by the president of GoNU this is a big mistake, in spite of that, SPLM should be proud of having strong cadre in GoNU and encourage them to go forward in stead of sacking them out from the GoNU, and I fully a gree with you Mr James that if NCP commends a good performance of SPLM' cadre is not a crime.