Concerned youth calls for nationalization of business sector

A concerned South Sudanese is wondering why South Sudan, blessed with natural resources and fertile land, imports everything including fruits, cereals, and fuel from neighboring countries.

Kuot William Ngor who is helpless to avert the situation wondered whether South Sudan has think tanks and nationalists despite his country being one of the wealthiest nations in Africa.

“Do we have think tanks in our country? Do we have nationalistic people in our country? I get amazed sometimes to see fruits like apples, oranges, mangoes, avocados, bananas, pineapples being imported from Uganda, while most of these fruits are rotting in Western Equatoria, just because of lack of roads and factories to transport them.

“We import sorghum (Mayo & Fatarita) from Sudan, Ugali flour, rice, and beans from Kenya and Uganda, while we have fertile land and not promoting our modern agriculture. Why are we not producing our own food?” asked.

Sounding disenchanted, a young South Sudanese said it was equally paradoxical for an oil-producing country like South Sudan to rely entirely on imported foods and fuel.

“We export crude oil and import fuel from Kenya. Why not build our own refinery to sell cheap fuel to our citizens and import it to neighboring countries?”

Ngor slammed nationals who seek medication abroad yet the health facility in the country can be upgraded to deliver quality and effective services to all citizens regardless of economic or political status.

Instead, he urged the government to higher-skilled labor from those countries to come and work in South Sudan so that the country escape brain-drain, likening it to America’s trajectory of development.

“Why referring people for medical services to Egypt, Sudan, India, and America and later on bring back dead bodies instead of building our own best hospital here in South Sudan and bring the best doctors from those countries to work for us,” Ngor questioned.

However, Ngor was quick to equate the issue to a lack of competent leaders to develop road infrastructure, building oil refinery, and inspire citizens to productively utilize the fertile virgin arable land of the youngest African country, urging leaders to follow suit of other African nations to develop its natural resources.

“Why not promote our wildlife safari to attract tourists to our country like Kenya, Tanzania, Botswana, and South Africa. We sleep in hotels, owned by foreign nationals. We do shopping in stores owned by foreigners and we own nothing! Why?”

Ngor said the fact that the business fraternity in South Sudan is predominantly run by foreign nationals was mind-boggling.