Can South Sudan avoid path taken by neighbors in Africa?

The world’s newest country has been founded on the blood of 2 million people who died in Africa’s longest civil year, which is why the international community must do everything it can to ensure that South Sudan does not follow the path to destruction taken by so many African countries. It has become common for corrupt leaders who have caused widespread misery among their people to blame former colonial powers for the economic ruination of once stable populations. The pain and suffering of so many Africans is a blot on humanity.

But that pitiful record of independence does not have to be replicated in South Sudan. With the proper guidance, the establishment of a corrupt-free central government, the development of a strong civic society and the creation of programs aimed specifically at the young people, the newest nation on earth has a chance to flourish.

But it won’t be easy given the challenges it confronts: the highest incidence of maternal death in the world; the lowest rate of elementary school enrollment; and profound poverty.

According to the Los Angeles Times, more than 90 percent of the population survives on less than a dollar a day, and nearly 1 in 5 people is chronically hungry. Only a third of the population has access to safe drinking water, and only a fourth is literate.

It would seem that the odds are stacked high against South Sudan surviving, but the country has one thing going for it that could ensure success if managed well: oil.

However, the region where the black gold is located is also claimed by the nation of Sudan which encompassed the entire area before the split under a peacekeeping agreement four years ago.

The north is mostly Muslim and Arab; the south, Christian and animist. The oil is in the south, but the north has the pipes to carry it to market, according to the Times.

Thus the need to find a way of maximizing the flow of oil while making sure that both countries benefit economically. Anything less will result in the north making a violent bid for control of the fields.

Infrastructure

The United Nations, led by the United States and the European Union, should be prepared to build the infrastructure in South Sudan to ensure that the oil gets to market if the north puts up barriers or resistance. The new country needs to establish a solid economic foundation, which it will only be able to do if it has access to desperately needed money.

Indeed, since the break away from Sudan, the new government has lacked the funds to pay for services or to pay government workers. That is a problem the international community should address with urgency.

The last thing the new nation needs is a restless population that views the central government in the capital Juba as corrupt and avaricious.

The civil war that lasted more than 50 years has taken its toll. The Sudanese people, both in the north and south, deserve a chance to live normal lives.