THE AFRICAN BUSINESS FORTUNE MAGAZINE ISSUE #006 The African Business Fortune Magazine | Page 5

Editor’s Note

What Riek Machar’s
return to Juba
means for Africa

Machar’s return to his home country not only signifies peace
and reconciliation to the South Sudan’s natives, but also to African nation as a whole – who after several months of unrest
can now begin to relate and trade cohesively with the young
nation.
South Sudan (SS) gained independence in July 2011 after 50
years of conflict and has faced many nation building challenges including creating new institutions, diversifying revenue
streams and providing basic services to its people.
Protracted disagreement on power sharing following an internal conflict in 2013 has set back these efforts. This situation
is exacerbated by the drop in petrol prices which is the main
forex earner accounting for 60 per cent of GDP and a looming
humanitarian crisis. In parallel SS has entered into negotiations on accession into the EAC. SS, therefore, faces multiple
challenges on many fronts.
Although the formation of a government of national unity is
a critical first step, a lasting stabilization of South Sudan will
only happen when peace is more lucrative than war.
After the protracted fight for independence against Sudan
and prior to the outbreak of the current conflict, the government failed to develop any economic alternatives for so many
men with guns to shift to a civil independent state.
For this to happen, the transitional government must work
together with civilian-oriented actors within and outside the
governing parties, civil society, the business community and
neighboring countries to find solutions that could lead to a
prosperous and peaceful country – that is starving.
Only then will the process of building a truly democratic
state in South Sudan will be possible.
Steve Umidha - Editor

M

ore than two years after South Sudan’s civil war
ensued; its opposition leader Riek Machar landed
in Juba – the country’s capital city in April this
year and was sworn in as vice president, a vital first step in the effort to reconcile the country from months of turmoil.
South Sudan, the world’s youngest nation, was born in 2011 to
great international fanfare. But shortly after independence, it spiraled into a civil war that killed tens of thousands and displaced
more than two million people.
Nearly two years of peace negotiations in Ethiopia’s capital,
Addis Ababa, yielded several cease-fires, and recommitments to
cease-fires, that were broken almost immediately.

THE AFRICAN BUSINESS FORTUNE MAY - JUNE 2016 5