By Dr. Sunday de John, Juba, South Sudan
Saturday, 29 November 2025 (PW) — Let us be blunt. This is another uncomfortable truth that must be expressed. Not in parables, not in tongues, but in words drawn from a clear and unguilted conscience. South Sudanese have suffered many afflictions, and one disgusting and persistent affliction that has created a “hard-to-heal” kind of wound is the belief that government appointments are tribal trophies. A belief that each appointed minister carries the banner of clan or tribe, and each dismissed minister marks the humiliation of a community.
This sounds like an illusion, but that is the true perception on the streets of Juba and other towns of South Sudan. I see it as a vice, a quiet poison that shapes a bad precedent. It has grown deep roots; it has shaped the way citizens complain and the way elders summon the authority and is now the new normal, the way appointments are interpreted not as services to the nation but as enrichment to the villages.
As a matter of truth, this perception has no place in any modern country or state. The art of governance has been designed such that each branch of a government has a well-defined function. For example, members of a parliament represent constituencies as mandated by the constitution. These are the representatives of their constituencies in terms of local needs.
But those in the executive are not community delegates. They are the country’s most trusted minds. They are made up of disciplined political cadres who have proven loyalty to the vision and technocrats with a special ability to understand the architecture of governance, policy, and national development.
By the understanding of South Sudanese, evidenced by the perception so described, this sacred responsibility has been reduced into a communal lottery. Many would ask, why was our son not appointed? Why did their daughter get a ministry? Nobody has ever asked: does she have the competency? Is he endowed with hard work and discipline? Do they have the ethical stamina to handle resources and power responsibly? These are vital questions. Aren’t they?
From this understanding, I can deduce that our problem is not only political structure; it is rooted in our culture. Over the years, many of us have been seeing government as a place to eat and not a place to serve. Families and clans gather to celebrate while expecting dividends. Communities are waiting for harvests from one officeholder to another, and they are not demanding national progress from institutions. Such an attitude has resulted in the replacement of services with entitlement.
Another compounding matter is this: the “revolving door of appointments.” I know of many wonderful South Sudanese; some were appointed into the government. However, a good man of this kind enters the office with a vision in his mind, but before he could even breathe or start his job, he could hear footsteps of gossipers behind him. Rumors begin to circulate. The whisperers multiply. The rivals get emboldened while sharpening their tongues.
A minister, undersecretary, or director under such intense pressure will not manage to design policy; instead, he would choose to design survival. He no longer thinks in terms of years; he thinks of weeks, and he does not protect the country; he protects himself.
This kind of insecurity brought about by an insecure job becomes the root of corruption. The man who fears the eventualities of tomorrow will steal today.
Having made this account of events that are contributing to our country’s regress, I would like to ask those who sit near the president to tell him this straight truth: job security is not a luxury. It is an anti-corruption strategy. A functional strategy that eases his work on matters of corruption. The stable government official can dream big. The fearful one can steal and hide.
If our president wants a nation that serves its people, he must free the appointed leaders from the terror of constant dismissal, and he must also free our communities from the illusion that their destinies are tied to specific appointments. If he takes these steps, the fearful executive will emerge from survival mode and provide services to our country.
Till then, yours truly, Mr. Teetotaler!
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