Foreigners Own The Economy of South Sudan

(OPINION/Batali Gabriel Modi)– Frustration and hopelessness weigh heavily on the people of South Sudan. Poverty is not the only issue. It is compounded by deliberate negligence on the part of leaders who have abandoned citizens, silenced them and stripped them of dignity. The voice of the people is loud and it cannot be ignored.

Civil servants including teachers, doctors, soldiers, police officers and administrators have gone without pay for more than a year.

Imagine the humiliation of a teacher walking into a classroom with an empty stomach, expected to inspire children while unable to buy even a bar of soap at home.

Consider a soldier, entrusted with defending the nation, watching his children go to bed hungry because his government has failed to pay him.

An African proverb says: “When the roots of a tree start decaying, they transmit death to the branches.”

Our government system is the decaying root, and its burden is drying out the sprouts. There are no services, no functioning economy, no jobs: only promises that never come true. This is not simple negligence. It is betrayal.

South Sudan was born with immense hope. But hope without responsibility becomes despair. Citizens now ask a clear and simple question: why should we serve a state that does not serve us?

As Nelson Mandela once wrote: “A nation must not be judged by how it treats its best citizens, but by how it treats its worst.”

By this measure, our young republic has failed. A government that does not pay its workers, does not provide basic services and allows foreign interests to dominate its economy is betraying itself.

Public services are collapsing. Hospitals are empty, schools are falling apart and ministries exist only in name. Citizens survive through small businesses, petty trade and humanitarian aid.

Another proverb warns: “When there is no enemy within, the enemies outside cannot harm you.”

In South Sudan, the real enemy is not foreign invaders but poor leadership and neglect. Foreign traders dominate hotels, wholesale and even retail markets, while South Sudanese citizens watch helplessly as their space to prosper shrinks.

It is not that South Sudanese people lack ability, energy or ideas. The problem is that their government has failed to create an environment that supports its citizens. National service and vision have been replaced by corruption, mismanagement and politics of self preservation.

Yet we must not lose hope. Clarity can emerge from crisis. Leaders must be reminded that legitimacy does not come from guns or positions but from service to the people. Salaries must be paid, services restored and economic opportunities opened for South Sudanese to thrive.

The people of South Sudan do not cry because they are weak, but because they are strong: strong enough to hope, to demand better, and to believe that change is still possible.

“When it rains, it does not fall on a single roof.”

The suffering in Juba, Wau, Bor, Yambio, Malakal, Bentiu and Yei affects the entire nation. Unless leaders respond to this cry, they risk losing not only the trust of the people but the nation itself. South Sudanese deserve better.

The question is: will leaders listen, or will silence and suffering continue to define the soul of South Sudan?

Behind this pain lies a dangerous truth: hunger and despair breed anger. When citizens feel betrayed by those in power, the risk of unrest grows. South Sudan does not need another cycle of violence. It needs responsible leadership that listens to its people.

The South Sudanese demand is not only about money or services. It is about dignity, justice and the right to live as citizens of the country they fought to create. The leadership must act on salaries, stabilise the economy, support local businesses, and invest in public services. Otherwise, they will be remembered not as liberators but as looters who squandered the hopes of a generation.

South Sudanese are resilient, but resilience is not acceptance. Their cry must be heard:

“We are sick and tired of waiting. We are sick and tired of hunger. We are sick and tired of being ignored in our own country.”

Batali Gabriel Modi (MONDURUTE) 

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