OPINION: HOW DID SENIOR DIPLOMAT CLEMENT DENG AKEECH OF SOUTH SUDAN EMBASSY IN UGANDA GET THE CONCEPT OF GOOD GOVERNANCE, WHICH MAJORITY OF THE SPLM MEMBERS HAVE COMPLETELY FAILED TO GRASP?

May 26, 2019 Daniel Juol Nhomngek, Opinions

-The standard approach to leadership inevitably results in failed nation-building efforts. -Leaders are not just decision-makers. They also must be students and educators. -Nation-building leaders help their nations set strategic priorities and then govern according to those priorities. -Defining — and differentiating between — the appropriate roles and responsibilities of leaders, employees and citizens is vital to successful nation building. -Nation-building leaders establish and strengthen the rule of law and ensure that everyone is held accountable to that rule — including themselves. -Nation-building leaders work to develop capable governance systems and capable people to operate those systems and get the job done today and in the future. -Perhaps most importantly, they continually ask themselves, “What legacy am I leaving my nation?”

By Daniel Juol Nhomngek, Kampala, Uganda.

Amb. Clement Deng Akeech, South Sudan Ambassador to Uganda(Photo credits: supplied/SSNN)

May 26th, 2019(SSNN) — South Sudan like other country in the world is grappling with the leadership crisis. Like many other nations of the world, South Sudan has failed because of the ineffective leadership. The reason is that many of those who are aspiring to be leaders are using a standard form or a formula of leadership they copied from other countries. Consequently, they fail to manage the responsibilities that they have been put in charge.

Leadership is in fact something to do with understanding of the needs of the people in accordance with the environment in which they live. Failure to under this is the cause of our problems in South Sudan. Like many African countries, the problem of South Sudan is the failure to understand what the leadership means in practice.

Majority of our politicians, and the youth who are aspiring to enter into politics to become leaders, have one disease in common: all of them have misunderstood what the leadership is in Africa and in South Sudanese context which is the cause of the problems facing us.

However, they cannot be blamed much because they have been educated formally under different systems of education with completely different values. As they return to South Sudan to exercise their leadership skills that they acquire in different schools and places being in East Africa, North Africa, Australia Europe and America they become theoretical as they try to apply as it is what they learned from there. Applying what they learned as it is, mess up the system.

The mess comes because the approach to the governance by those individuals is based on the concept of leadership as it exists in those countries where they went to school and have been for several years. Leadership and skills required for good governance in the USA and other countries as mentioned above are totally different from what are required in South Sudan due to differences in values and levels of literacy. The values that exist in the West are not applicable in South Sudan which those skills irrelevant in the context of South Sudan.

To make the matters worse, those individuals who are currently in leadership in South Sudan and in particular the ruling party, the SPLM, assume that they know everything about the governance and the people on the ground to be governed, are mere receivers who are to be directed without participating in governance. This becomes the centre of the crisis facing the SPLM and all the oppositions who are opposing the SPLM as well.

As a matter of fact, even if the oppositions are given power today in South Sudan, they will still fall prey of the same misdeeds that they were fighting against in the SPLM Party.The whole thing is that they have not understood the concept of effective leadership which is the basis of good governance in the context of South Sudan.

The question then is, how did Senior Diplomat Clement Deng Akeech of South Sudan Embassy in the republic of Uganda out of the whole leadership of South Sudan get the concept of good governance, which majority of the SPLM members and oppositions have completely failed to grasp? The members of the oppositions may not be happy with this question and they may argue that they have never been in the top leadership in the government since 2005 to 2013, which is not correct. For one to be judged a leader, he or she does not need to lead others or to be in top position but what he or she must show in any position he or she is entrusted with, whether being a watchman or the president is that he can perform in service of others.

In other words, one must be trusted in the little thing he or she is in charge. This is why Jesus made it clear to his followers that “Whoever is faithful in small matters will be faithful in large ones; whoever is dishonest in small matters will be dishonest in large ones” (Read Luke 16: 10). This statement is true as far as South Sudan is majority of South Sudanese leaders are concerned.

For instance, majority of those opposing the government today are as badly off in the management or in leadership as the government they are opposing today. Hence, if they were not trusted in small things, how can they be trusted in big ones? Having pointed out this fact, I must go back to my original question which is, how did Senior Diplomat Clement Deng Akeech of South Sudan Embassy in the republic of Uganda get the concept of good governance which originates from effective leadership, out of the whole leadership of South Sudan?

When I talk of the leadership in this context, I meant the members of the SPLM members in government as well as those in oppositions which must be discussed in light to character of Senior Diplomat Clement Deng Akeech. In respect to Clement Deng Akeech I came to learn more about him and his concept on leadership and good governance on May 25, 2019.

On May 25, 2019 I attended the function that was organized by Gogrial Community in Uganda celebrating the Peace Agreement: Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS), 2018. The theme of the celebration was PEACE AND UNITY FOR ALL. During the function many speakers spoke praising the people of Gogrial for being peace loving people and their effort to disseminate the current Peace Agreement amidst the opposition to it by different groups in the country. I even also spoke but my topic was about peace, community and the government and the need for the truth if the lasting peace is to be achieved in South Sudan.

As different Speakers spoke I did not pick much interest in what they were saying as they were saying usual things as need for peace, unity and that people should avoid writing divisive messages and instead they should give peace a chance. Some attack those who write on social media and branded them to be the cause of our problems in the country. But at last Diplomat Clement Deng Akeech was invited to come and speak to the people who attended the celebration.

As he was speaking I did not take much interest in what he was saying until he touched a point that triggered my interest in listening to his speech. The point that raised my interest was when he said that the government has a moral duty to care for her citizens. He said in addition to that that they have sat as members of Embassy to see how to protect South Sudanese children, which in his language “our children”. He said that they came to that conclusion because the children are getting spoiled as girls less than eighteen (18) years are moving on the streets aimlessly or with men who are old enough to be their fathers.

He added that they did not have any problem with South Sudanese girls who are 18 years and above going out with anyone they wished to go with. He said that they sat as members of Embassy of the Republic of South Sudan in Uganda to find a way of how to protect South Sudanese children and cultures and they had come up with resolution on how to deal with the matter.

Diplomat Clement Deng Akeech further said that they would be arresting those young girls but they would not put them in prison in ordinary sense, instead they would be stopping them by force and take them to their parents. In addition, he warned those men who cheated those young girls and if those men were found with those young South Sudanese girls they would detain them as a way of deterring them and protect children as well. He after that talked of many other things but above points were the ones that attracted my interest into writing this article. This article is therefore reflection on what the speech of Diplomat Deng Akeech which clearly shows that he has a clear understanding of what leadership and effective leadership are.

An effective leadership means not applying the standard approach to leadership as this has inevitably resulted in failed nation-building efforts. As a matter of common sense, leaders must go by what is prevailing on the grounds by applying and modifying what they know to suit what is on the ground. This makes leaders not just to be decision-makers but they are also students and educators.

In fact, nation-building leaders help their nations by setting strategic priorities and then govern according to those priorities. Moreover, leaders should be able to differentiate between the appropriate roles and responsibilities of leaders, employees and citizens, which are vital to successful nation building. Nation-building leaders establish and strengthen the rule of law and ensure that everyone is held accountable to that rule including themselves.

Finally, Nation-building leaders work to develop capable governance systems and capable people to operate those systems and get the job done today and in the future. Perhaps most importantly, they continually ask themselves, “What legacy am I leaving my nation?”

In summary, Diplomat Clement Deng Akeech as I have more knowledge about him since I have been with him for some years besides the way he talked on that day, I can conclude that he has some important leadership qualities that separate good leaders from a bad one. For example, he has honesty and Integrity, he inspires others, he is committed and has a lot of passion to help others, he is good communicator, he has Decision-making Capabilities, he is accountable, and he loves developing others as he appreciates other people, he is proactive and finally he is creative as well as innovative. I recommend him to the SPLM leadership to bring him up for greater things in future.

As I know some people after reading this article will accuse me of having been paid to praise Clement Deng Akeech. They are free to say whatever they want to say about me but my guide is the truth based on the question: is there any truth in what I am saying in this article?

The author, Daniel Juol Nhomngek, is a concern South Sudanese. He can be reached for more information at juoldaniel2003@gmail.com

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