UN Envoy: South Sudan has Potential, Needs to Hold Elections
Voice of America
UNITED NATIONS - David Shearer said Wednesday he's leaving the top U.N. job in South Sudan convinced the world's youngest nation has the potential to become a tourist destination to rival any country in East Africa and the oil and mineral riches to spur economic progress — if it can eliminate corruption and establish a transparent and open government.
As the country approaches its 10th anniversary of independence from Sudan on July 11, it has a transitional government in place following a 2018 peace agreement, and a 2020 cease-fire. Shearer said in an interview with The Associated Press that though "it's all moved too slowly," it's now time to focus on elections "and have a legitimate, popularly elected government. "That needs to be the rallying cry as we go forward — to bring everybody on board and to put pressure on the government to actually speak up and hold those elections," he said. "That doesn't mean to say winner needs to take all, because that can create all sorts of problems. But we do have to allow people to have their say in what comes next." There were high hopes for peace and stability once South Sudan gained its long-fought independence from Sudan. But the country slid into ethnic violence in December 2013 when forces loyal to President Salva Kiir, a Dinka, started battling those loyal to Riek Machar, his former vice president who belongs to the Nuer people.U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrives at the U.S. Naval Support Activity base, in Naples, Italy, April 17, 2024, for the G7 foreign ministers summit on Capri island. Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani arrives for the G7 foreign ministers meeting, on the Island of Capri, Italy, April 17, 2024.
FILE - A regional hospital is seen from the street in Bafoussam, Cameroon, Sept. 20, 2021. Officials in the country say doctors are fleeing Cameroon to escape hardship, poor pay, difficult working conditions and unemployment. FILE - Nurses talk with a 13-year-old boy with a gunshot wound as he lies in a hospital bed in Kumba, Cameroon, Oct. 25, 2020.
Supporters attend an election rally addressed by Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leader and Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu state, M. K. Stalin, ahead of country's general elections, on the outskirts of southern Indian city of Chennai, April 15, 2024. Large cutout portraits of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and Indian National Congress (INC) leaders are erected overseeing political supporters during an election campaign rally, Chennai, April 15, 2024. Large cutout portraits of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi are displayed along the route as Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Tamilisai Soundararajan rides on top of a vehicle during a roadshow, Chennai, April 14, 2024.