South Sudan Council of Churches: Statement of the Parties and Stakeholders to the IGAD High Level Revitalization Forum 21 May 2018 (22.05.2018)

Opinion: DP Ruto shows again how he finessed the game, yet again!

What happen on Sunday on the 20th May 2018, that everyone has accept the results of the Fresh Presidential Elections on the 26th October 2017. Like he knows perfectly well the flaws and the issues with the elections. He was part of the issues that the elections of 2017 had, it was him and the President who ordered and fixed the results. Therefore, it is insulting to tell others how to cope with the end-game. But that is his arrogance.

Deputy President William Ruto has finessed this game, using the CORD/NASA as the wrong-doers, while his party is justified. Ruto has all along said that you should respect the constitution, rule of law and fighting insecurity. While his government are disrespecting the same values, attacking the Supreme Court, not following Court Orders or even securing the people, as the police continues with brutality after the elections in 2017.

DP Ruto is really just disrespecting the values that he is so concerned about, he is defending it, when it goes his way. But when the same courts and same rules of law is in his way, the state and the Jubilee will say its a problem. We have all been here before, Ruto is really just finessing his way. Now we have to accept the outcome of the elections. Just like they wasn’t fully flawed and deserves an independent investigations into the Cambridge Analytica, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), Safaricom and the OT Morpho controversy, as the digital results transmission, the BVR Machine nightmare and the IEBC Server connected to the Cambridge Analytica server. All of these issues should be looked into, but that will also undress the king and the prince, which is Ruto. He and his kind will not accept the madness of doing so.

Also, that Ruto thinks people forget the number-crushing, the lack of openness within the results transmission, the lack of truthful voter register and amount of voters, which changed with time. As well, as the problematic high turnout for the 26th October elections, compared to the lack of people actually turning out. It is like Ruto forgets this. There are too many issues with this elections, just to let it go and say: Your the DP and President, we cannot question your legitimacy.

Even with the building bridges project, it doesn’t erase the history of these elections, that is why Ruto tries to finesse it. Tries to overshadow and let people forget the grand issues of it all. Ruto should be careful to even mention the elections. Because he knows perfectly well, all of these issues and underlying problems.

So, if he says they are legitimate, lets someone really independent, not judges who we’re besieged and house-arrested give the verdict, not let the boycotts and the grandest issues fall behind the swords of your tongue. Because we know the deal, we know the outcome and we know about what happen. It is the ignorant and blatant disregard for electoral practice that lets this go. It is you and your kind that don’t give a fig, about respecting the ballots and the people’s will.

Ruto, I will not accept a computer generated elections, where donkeys, chickens and kids voted your in and the electorate was disenfranchised. That is forgotten and people like me will not accept it. People were sleeping as guards on the polling stations. Therefore, Mr. Ruto, your legitimacy is fragile, it is fake and you can blame and tell others how to feel.

However, that will not change the reality and the real outcome of the 26th October 2017, maybe you should send the army to spread more fear, maybe more leaders in house-arrest. Because that was how you got the courts to comply to your wishes. Peace.

Opinion: When will the grace period of the Chinese loans end? – While, Kenya and Uganda continues to borrow more!

The Government of Kenya and the Government of Uganda, should both worry about their arrangements and their growing debts, as the non-sustainable rates of debt and higher interests. As the unnatural growth of the national budget, where the lack of revenue is covered with more state debt. To cover both salaries and development projects. All of this has happen over the recent years. As more and more of the yearly budget goes to pay interest on old loans, as the old loans also mature and the rates will become more dire. As the strength of the economy isn’t going in the same rates as the loans. This is in the end a debt trap. A debt trap China has used in other countries.

Sri Lanka is the recent example, which has come into a debt trap, where the Chinese loans has become so dire, become so big and not able to recover. That the collateral for the state was to favorable lease the harbor of Hambantota to the Chinese. They had too, since they couldn’t repay the creditor from Peking. That should be realization from all the others who borrows big and think that the Chinese will not get something valuable back for their funding.

This should be a warning for the Kenyan and Ugandan counterparts, this should be a warning for President Kenyatta and President Museveni. That is if they care about the state resources, about their minerals and about the possible extractions from their republics. If they want to be debt-slaves, or lease away the crown jewels to the Chinese, because they promised favorable debt plans, that in the end put them in juxtaposition, that they cannot come out off; unless they trade away something very valuable. If that would be licenses to drill oil in Turkana or in Bunyoro.

Who knows what the end-game of these massive loans are and if the Presidents and their parties plans to repay them. Or hope that the next generation will try to invent new way of generating money. If so, then they are saved by rare luck and not by planning ahead. These loans are big and taking bigger and bigger slices of the GDP. They are going far beyond the levels of revenue and possible future forecast of funds. Therefore, the loans can only at this point benefit the ones giving them. They will get the repayments and the interests. If they don’t get that, they will take collateral and take other state entities to get their values back. The Chinese are doing that in Sri Lanka, they could easily do that with Kenya and Uganda too. They are in for the taking and ready to muscled out.

The Chinese doesn’t play and doesn’t play with money, they will recollect and they will recover the funds spent. As they are not playing games, they are really investing and hoping to get paid-in-full. They are waiting for the numbers to go from red to black. They don’t expect to loose, and if they do. They will figure other ways to collect the lost.

President Kenyatta and President Museveni should know this, but I doubt they are thinking in this direction right now. They are eating and not caring, but their states and their economist should worry. As the growing debts has a backside, not only the interests and the lack of development it creates, as they have to find bigger revenue to cover the debt and the mature loans, as they have to settle old affairs and such. They don’t go away or get deleted over nothing. They got to take charge and find a way to solve it.

The Chinese will take advantage if they start to default, if they struggle to pay, which could come, if the loans and the negative spiral of lack of revenue continues. That is if the state doesn’t find ways to repay. Than, the Chinese might take a port, might take state owned enterprise, but surely they will be paid-in-full. Peace.

South Sudan: Ustaz Lewis Anei Madut-Kuendit – “Declaration to join South Sudan United Front/Army-SSUF/A” (19.05.2018)

South Sudan Council of Churces: Statement on IGAD High Level Revitalisation Forum – Intra- South Sudanese Stakeholders Consultations from the South Sudan Council of Churches (19.05.2018)

South Sudan: Omer Eshaq Mohammed from Lol State resignation letter to Maj. Gen. Rizik Zacharia Hassan (18.05.2018)

South Sudan: Hon. Ustaz Lewis Anei Madut-Kuendit resignation letter to President Salva Kiir Mayardit (18.05.2018)

Statement by the Deputy Chairperson of the African Union at the Second High-Level Revitalisation Forum of South Sudan: Addis Ababa, 17 May 2018

South Sudan: Centre for Inclusive Governance, Peace and Justice (CIGPJ) – Press Statement (17.05.2018)

South Sudan Council of Churches: Statement at the High-Level Revitalisation Forum (HLRF) – (17.05.2018)