The making of South Sudan

“I think open and transparent governance, good governance, will be very important for the government after Independence. We have to remember we are moving from a period of a liberation movement into a period of democratic governance and there are always going to e some tensions in that process”, says John Ashworth, special advisor to the Southern African Bishops Conference on Sudan.

Speaking to Emer McCarthy from Juba, Southern Sudan, ahead of its secession from the North this Saturday he described a calm and quietly jubilent city that is busy making final preparations for celebrations. He also underlined the fundamental role that the Church has played and will continue to play in the democratisation process:

“The Church is a major player in south Sudan. All through the years of the war the Church was the only institution that remained with the people on the ground, at a time when there was no government, no United Nations, no civil society, no NGO’s, nothing. So the Church actually has a much broader role that will continue in the new independent Southern Sudan. The government is very open to dialogue with the Church is certainly there to support the young government in the tasks that lie ahead”.

On Wednesday a number of aid agencies called on the United Nations to increase the number of troops to be deployed to South Sudan after it secedes. They are concerned by an increase in violence along the volatile North South border.

“The border area is very tense, - concedes Ashworth - we have the problem of Abyei which was invaded by the North a couple of weeks ago and the problem of the Kordofan area, where the Nuba mountains are – which is not actually a problem for South Sudan given that they lie on the northern side of the border – but here in Juba [capital of Southern Sudan – ed] the atmosphere is bustling ahead of Saturday”. Listen to full interview: