Africa-Press – South-Sudan. Senior Presidential Advisor, Gen Kuol Manyang Juuk, has urged for a paradigmatic shift for the country to embrace agriculture and hit a self-sustaining path.
In an exclusive interview with The City Review in his office on Tuesday, Gen Kuol said the country has a great potential to produce its food instead of depending on the neighbouring countries.
He said South Sudan has vast arable land, enough water and sunshine to support the floral life as well as animal husbandry. He reflected on how he nearly exited the political scene for farming in 2015 in a bid to show his compatriots a path to productivity.
President Salva Kiir has been encouraging citizens to cultivate in order to support their families. “President Salva Kiir Mayardit tells people to go and farm so that they become self-reliant and not to depend on relief food,” Kuol said.
He stated that he meant going to farm when he requested President Kiir to allow him, to leave the government so that he could lead the way into farming.
“But these young people don’t want to go to the countryside. So, I told the president that when I tell the people to go and farm, they don’t go. As a leader, I must go so that they follow me. I said if this is the case, I better leave the government and go to the farm so that when people visit me and see me farming, they will copy from me,” he said.
“They will come and see how I am doing it, and then they will go and do it. This is how you attract people, by demonstration. This is what I said when I said I want to leave the government. We have the hands, we have the legs for us to move and produce our own food. “
However, Gen. Kuol’s dream of taking the lead in farming did not go unfulfilled, after the government refused to allow him to exit the government in 2015. He went ahead and cultivated in Bilnyang, a decision he said was imitated by many South Sudanese.
However, he acknowledged insecurity as a factor that makes individuals fear farming in their home towns and villages, adding that, the parties to the agreement should demonstrate a political will, for the country to embark on agriculture to feed itself.
Step ahead
The national minister for finance and planning, Agak Achuil Lual, yesterday disclosed that UNFAO had launched the World Bank report on the transformation of the South Sudan agriculture sector so that the nation would transition from humanitarian aid to a self-sustaining economy.
“The discussion revolved around transforming humanitarian aid into agricultural development in the country. We encouraged all the international partners to transition from humanitarian to more sustainable programmes such as agricultural sector development, “Agak said. This shows that the country has taken a step in the positive direction to develop the private sector instead of being dependent on oil.
Lazy youth
Moving across the country, a number of South Sudanese graduates are jobless, as they crave government jobs where the opportunities are mainly secured by a few individuals.
Most of them end up discussing politics on the streets as they sip hot tea in the sunny city of Juba to relieve hunger, and others have reverted to crimes to support families.
Early this month, the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General to South Sudan, Nicholas Haysom said most youth are lured to crimes and hostilities against aid workers and peacekeepers by the economic crisis that exposes them to poor living standards.
“The dire economic situation and its impact on youth has resulted in a surge in criminality and xenophobic hostility towards humanitarians and peacekeepers,” he said.
The senior presidential advisor advised the youth who are unemployed to embark on agriculture and micro-businesses instead of waiting for government jobs. He stressed that the government cannot accommodate everyone, so it is vital our youth stop being ignorant and till the land.
“I have seen that our people, especially the young people who have finished their university studies, are idle. There is no employment for them, and I sympathise with them. But they think the government should employ them. They are blaming the government for not creating a conducive environment for investors to invest in the country, “Gen Kuol noted.
He stressed that the youth should be discouraged from living in people’s houses while they don’t contribute anything, calling it a “crime” and exploitation.”
But our people think, the government should employ them. Where does the government get the money from? The government gets money from the business profit tax. Some youths don’t work, but waste time on social media, and will go to the house of his brother, uncle or father to eat there, is that not a crime? That is exploitation,” he reiterated.
He added that South Sudanese should learn from foreigners who are graduates and earn living in South Sudan through small businesses like cooking, kiosks, et’ cetera. He reiterated that the South Sudanese youth should not hesitate to start businesses.
“Why should a person be idle and not create a job for himself? Now, foreigners, who are university graduates, have made money here. Why should our people remain without creating for themselves jobs?” he advised.
“Education is to only open the person’s mind, the mental capacity, and the government has a policy that everybody must be educated and after education, that education will even get that person a job for himself, because his mental capacity has been developed.”
Peace vital
In December 2021, Gen Kuol advised the youth to desist from nepotism stressing that they should cooperate and promote a peaceful coexistence across the country.
“We are people of South Sudan because the world is changing. You came from your villages to the city, your children will not return; they will live here. They are now South Sudanese and we need peace in South Sudan; we should stop division,” Kuol said.
“If you are a scientist or a medical doctor, do what will make sense to people around you? Nepotism is bad, we might be geographically located in various places but we are one people.”
The senior presidential advisor reiterated that those who involved themselves in tribalism are not educated adding that the youth should study and start their own businesses to sustain themselves and refrain from crimes.
“The worst part of education is that we have our people with PhDs, Master’s Degrees, Bachelor’s Degrees and Diplomas, but what confuses me, is when I hear them involved in nepotism. Is that what you studied?” he stated.
He advised the parents to prioritize educating their children for the betterment of their future and nation building. Gen Kuol said peace must begin at an individual level to find a viable solution to all the challenges facing the country.
“Peace is not the work of only one person. It [must] be done by all of us. Bring peace back because peace has gone away from us and peace does not come by itself,” he said.
“Now we have the constitution and it has addressed all these: how we develop the country from the resources we have. If there is no peace there are no lives. Peace and life go together and if there is no law what do you expect?” he said.
He admitted that corruption was prevalent in the country due to the economic situation and the poverty level. Kuol said some soldiers and police officers were misusing their weapons to commit criminal acts.
For More News And Analysis About South-Sudan Follow Africa-Press
