USAID/OTI Sudan Field Report
March 2005
Program Description
The USAID Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI) program in Sudan works to link ongoing peace processes, at the local and national level, to initiatives that promote increased participation of southern Sudanese in their governing structures. The four main objectives of the OTI southern Sudan program are to: support the emergence of responsive, effective, and inclusive civil authorities; restore the conditions of peace within and among communities through support of opportunities for peaceful dialogue; assist in the emergence of an empowered and active civil society; and, increase access to quality, independent information.
OTI's implementing partners are PACT, Educational Development Center (EDC), and Development Alternatives, Inc (DAI). PACT manages the Southern Sudan Transition Initiative (SSTI), which is a two-year small grants program promoting and supporting good governance, local-level peace initiatives, the development of civil society and an informative and balanced media. EDC has established the Sudan Radio Service, which is a short-wave radio station that transmits six hours of programming daily on current events, civic education, health, and culture in nine languages. DAI is implementing phase II of the small grants program that will focus on critical transition needs in the aftermath of the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) between the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) and the Government of Sudan (GoS).
Country Situation
SPLM and GoS Contest Oil Rights – The SPLM has decided to rescind all oil exploration rights in territory under its control despite stipulations in the January peace deal that no oil deals reached before the peace agreement would be subject to renegotiation. The SPLM has reassigned seven areas previously allotted to the French oil company Total to a UK firm. Sudanese government officials have vigorously denied the south's right to grant licenses and cautioned against any attempt to undermine its authority.
Sudanese Parties Issue Joint Appeal – In a joint appeal presented in Nairobi, the SPLM and the GoS requested $2.6 billion from the international community to finance recovery and development programs in the war-torn country. The amount requested from donors is out of a total of $7.8 billion the two sides calculated would be required to address urgent needs in the north and the south in the next two and a half years. The costs not covered by the joint appeal are expected to be funded from oil revenues.
Study Highlights Extent of Wildlife Poaching – A report compiled by Care for the Wild International, a British-based wildlife charity, has revealed that Sudan's army and proxy militias are slaughtering large numbers of elephants in southern Sudan. A month-long investigation report by Esmond Martin, a respected elephant researcher, revealed a stockpile of thousands of kilos of ivory in the Sudanese capital Khartoum and Omdurman town. The ivory is often destined for Asian markets.
LRA Attack in Sudan Leaves 8 Dead – The Ugandan rebel group, the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), killed eight civilians and injured scores of others in an attack in southern Sudan. An LRA attack on a USAID-funded teachers training institute in Arapi left one guard dead. The students and teachers escaped unharmed.
South-South Reconciliation Talks to Begin –
Representatives from SPLM and southern-based militias met in late March to prepare for a conference on national reconciliation. The meeting brought together representatives from militias aligned with both the SPLM and Khartoum government. The date for the conference has not been set although it has been widely reported that former Kenyan President Daniel arap Moi will convene the gathering.
USAID/OTI Highlights
A. Narrative Summary
OTI Sudan program went through its own "transition" process in March with the phasing out of the SSTI program implemented by PACT and the bringing on board of a new SWIFT contractor, Development Alternatives, Inc (DAI). The SWIFT mechanism will offer the OTI Sudan program the speed and flexibility to address critical transition needs and provide visible peace dividends to communities throughout southern Sudan. DAI offices were set up in Rumbek and key staff members arrived in Nairobi and are now stationed in southern Sudan. Focus areas in the second phase of OTI programming include community infrastructure, local governance and new media initiatives.
While the SSTI program officially ends in June, the last grants were cleared in March. OTI awarded 34 grants to local Sudanese organizations in support of peace dialogues, civil society development, local governance and media. With the relative stability due to the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, OTI programming continues to consolidate gains made through over 85 grants issued to support peaceful dialogue among communities. In eastern Equatoria, an OTI grant issued last year facilitated the reconciliation of the Jie and Mogos communities after frequent outbreaks of conflict of water and cattle. The two communities were brought together once more in March to identify water sites and set up management systems of water catchments points. The joint activity builds stronger bonds between the two groups and ensures consensus on potentially contentious resource issues.
The impact of the conflict in Darfur has been felt in southern Sudan with the movement of Darfurian IDPs escaping the conflict into northern Bahr el Ghazal. In addition, there are reports that tribes allied with the janjaweed have also moved into the region in search of grazing land and water. A grant was awarded to the Aweil Community Welfare Association to convene an emergency meeting between the neighboring communities of the Dinka and Reizegat to develop a coordinated approach to the issue IDP of movement and conflict resolution. In the transitional area of Abyei, it is estimated that over 90% of the indigenous residents are currently IDPs based in the Khartoum area. Through an OTI grant, the Abyei Community Development Committee is organizing traditional leaders and civil authority in preparation of an expected increase in the returnees to Abyei.
The advent of very small aperture terminal (VSAT) technology has provided communities in the developing world with the ability to email, fax, and call from isolated locations. A grant to the Diocese of Torit in eastern Equatoria will assist in the purchase of equipment for establishing seven satellite internet centers in the region. The centers will enable a cross-section of the rural community - from aid workers to farmer - to expand their communication reach far beyond their immediate community.
Additional projects funded in March include institutional capacity-building support to local authorities in the Nuba Mountains, road clearing in Upper Nile, women's income-generation activities, inter-tribe peace conferences and trauma counseling.
Sudan Radio Service Executive Producer Rebecca Okwaci has been invited by SPLM to attend an upcoming donor conference in Oslo, Norway. She will not only be officially representing southern Sudanese women and civil society, but will also represent SRS. Support to the media will undoubtedly be part of the discussions in Oslo. SRS has conducted several publicity workshops in communities in the Upper Nile. The feedback reports received from these campaigns reveals a major need for replication and expansion of these publicity campaign workshops to cover the whole of southern Sudan. The communities believe these workshops will help in accelerating the implementation of peace on southern Sudan.
B. Grants Activity Summary
| Promote emergence of responsive, effective and inclusive civil authorities. |
7 |
$109,504 |
35 |
$1,328,667 |
| Provide opportunities for peaceful dialogue within and among communities. |
25 |
$388,770 |
88 |
$2,737,389 |
| Promote the emergence of an empowered and an active civil society. |
|
|
49 |
$1,430,023 |
| Increase availability of quality, independent information. |
2 |
$ 91,600 |
35 |
$4,787,934 |
| Total |
34 |
$589,874 |
207 |
$10,284,013 |
C. Indicators of Success
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| Bor Dinka IDPs, traditional cattle herders, face resistance from agrarian local communities. |
For over a year, OTI has provided support to the Joint Integration Return and Rehabilitation Support Team (JIRRST), a group of civil society leaders and local authorities, to facilitate the return of Bor Dinka IDPs from Mundri County to Upper Nile. In the past decade, there have been constant conflicts between the IDPs and their host communities over cattle and property that has resulted in violence and instability. One of the major stumbling blocks for the safe passage of the IDPs and their cattle camps is the insecurity in the region. With a grant from OTI, the JIRRST convened a three-day conference on the Bor IDPs return that included key figures such as Governor of Bahr el Jebel Major Clement Wani from the Government of Sudan-held areas and SPLM Vice-Chair James Wani Igga. Both leaders publicly pledged to create safe corridors for the IDPs to return to Upper Nile. Governor Clement Wani promised to donate two motorboats and security to facilitate the movement of the IDPs across the Nile River.
NEXT STEPS/IMMEDIATE PRIORITIES
- TDY of Technology Specialist Dan Henry and Senior Field Advisor Eleanor Bedford
- Work with DAI on formalizing systems and procedures for second phase
For further information, please contact:
In Washington, D.C: Nhelly Saleh, Sudan Program Manager, Tel: (202) 712-0795, nsaleh@usaid.gov
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