Stark gap between potential and reality in South Sudan

It was an unusual March 17th in the Radisson Blu in Juba, the capital of South Sudan. One of the world’s youngest countries was having its first ministerial St Patrick’s Day reception.

The assembled crowd on the 13th floor of one of South Sudan’s poshest hotels included diplomats, missionaries, aid agencies and United Nations staff. They watched the sun set over the city and stood to attention for the South Sudanese and Irish national anthems. There were canapés, a cake decorated with the tricolour, canned Guinness and a range of wines. And then a quick ending, as people left for organisation-imposed curfews, meaning staff must be home by 9pm.

Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue was on the last leg of a three-country trip. He had already visited Kenya, where he spent time in Kakuma refugee camp, and Ethiopia, where he visited the Afar region in the country’s northeast.

He landed in South Sudan as a heatwave was declared. Temperatures above 40 degrees had forced the country’s schools to shut.

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Straight after arriving, McConalogue was on another plane to South Sudan’s Warrap State, where he saw the area’s “stark realities of farming”.

Nicola Brennan, Irish ambassador to Ethiopia, South Sudan and Djibouti, said the contingent got the “best greeting” there, where “the only people not wearing green were the Irish delegation”.

During a speech at the reception later that day in Juba, she said St Patrick’s Day makes Irish people reflect on the many “strong relationships that we have with many countries in the world”.

[ South Sudan shuts schools in face of extreme heat ]

Ireland has supported South Sudan since it achieved independence in 2011, she said. Elections are scheduled for this year, though various prerequisites have still not been met. “I really encourage the government of South Sudan and all the parties to the peace agreement to really work to fulfil the obligations to enable peace, stability and prosperity in this wonderful young nation,” she said.

She called St Patrick’s Day “a time to reflect on our strong principles and values” and a day to “mark the contributions that Ireland and Irish people have made to confronting the challenges of the world”.

She mentioned Irish missionaries, “some of whom are here tonight”, and the UN and various aid agencies, which Ireland supports with funding. “I just want you to know that your work is so much appreciated.”

South Sudan – which has a population of roughly 11 million people – went through a devastating war, beginning in 2013. Insecurity persists, and now neighbouring Sudan is embroiled in a new conflict, with refugees streaming across the border.

An economic crisis is compounding the challenges. South Sudan’s finance minister was fired by president Salva Kiir on Friday.

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During his trip, McConalogue announced an Irish commitment of €105 million to the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) in 2025-2027, a 40 per cent increase on the previous three-year period. Some €30 million of that has been earmarked for the Horn of Africa. The funding will be provided by the Minister’s department, which is the “partner department” for WFP.

The head of the WFP in South Sudan is Donegal woman Mary Ellen McGroarty.

McConalogue – who was visiting the African continent for the second time – said his objective was to see the work UN agencies are doing and “to see how we can build on that”.

This time, he was particularly shocked and surprised by “the gap between the potential and the reality. So much more is possible but it’s not being achieved. In fact, in many cases we’re seeing backward movement.”

He also realised the “importance of political stability to making progress and how regression can happen with much less effort than progress”.

“Irish people, I think, do care,” he said. “By their nature they are generous and have a strong humanitarian spirit in relation to helping others. But naturally there isn’t the level of awareness without a doubt, and in everyday life everyone has their own challenges. But ... people in this part of the [world] are living an entirely different life and inhabiting an entirely different world and reality to the one we do at home. And we can make such a difference and such an impact in relation to supporting them, in relation to helping them to move forward and particularly in relation to providing the basic needs of food security and other essentials such as education and health.”