PANAPRESS
Panafrican News Agency
The world's newest state, South Sudan, is born
Juba, South Sudan (PANA) - The world's newest nation, South Sudan, has been born.
It became a new state at midnight local time (2100 GMT) amidst jubilation by its citizens.
South Sudan split from Sudan after years of a bloody civil war.
The independence path was firmed up by the 2005 Comprehensive Peace agreement (CPA) and a referendum earlier this year.
In the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, President Omar El-Bashir welcomed the independence of the South and pledged to be at the forefront of celebrations, which, he said, marked a historic turning point.
El-Bashir said the magnanimous step of granting the wish of the Southern Sudanese should be reciprocated worldwide, and gave the assurance that he would support the negotiations to end the outstanding issues, including the sharing of the oil wealth, the citizenship issues and the status of the five disputed territories.
Earlier, El-Bashir, who is facing criticism from the north over his handling of the peace efforts in the country that led to the split, announced he would inaugurate the Sudanese embassy in Juba.
The US is among the world’s states that had taken steps to set up consulates in Juba in anticipation of the country’s possible separation from the North as part of the North-South peace agreement.
World leaders, including the Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki, have called for better relations between the North and the South to exist as the two sister nations split.
In an article dispatched to newspapers, the UN chief said on the day of its birth, South Sudan will rank near the bottom of all recognized human development indices.
“The statistics are truly humbling. It has the world’s highest maternal mortality rate. Estimates of illiteracy among the female population exceed 80 per cent. More than half of its people must feed, clothe and shelter themselves on less than a dollar a day,” Ban wrote.
Critical issues of poverty, insecurity and lack of infrastructure must all be addressed by a relatively new government with little experience and only embryonic institutions, the UN chief said.
Ban said when he first visited South Sudan in 2007 – an area of 620,000 square kilometres with less than 100 kilometres of paved road, he was able to see the magnitude of the political challenges facing the country.
Within this larger context, the risk of increased violence, harm to civilian populations and further humanitarian suffering is very real, he wrote.
He, however, also noted the absolute potential that the new country wields, with its substantial oil reserves, huge amounts of arable land and the Nile flowing through its centre.
South Sudan could grow into a prosperous, self-sustaining nation, capable of providing security, services and employment for its population.
The World Bank announced a US$ 75 million trust fund for the South Sudan this week and urged the country to immediately begin work on its macro-economic issues.
-0- PANA MA 8July2012
It became a new state at midnight local time (2100 GMT) amidst jubilation by its citizens.
South Sudan split from Sudan after years of a bloody civil war.
The independence path was firmed up by the 2005 Comprehensive Peace agreement (CPA) and a referendum earlier this year.
In the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, President Omar El-Bashir welcomed the independence of the South and pledged to be at the forefront of celebrations, which, he said, marked a historic turning point.
El-Bashir said the magnanimous step of granting the wish of the Southern Sudanese should be reciprocated worldwide, and gave the assurance that he would support the negotiations to end the outstanding issues, including the sharing of the oil wealth, the citizenship issues and the status of the five disputed territories.
Earlier, El-Bashir, who is facing criticism from the north over his handling of the peace efforts in the country that led to the split, announced he would inaugurate the Sudanese embassy in Juba.
The US is among the world’s states that had taken steps to set up consulates in Juba in anticipation of the country’s possible separation from the North as part of the North-South peace agreement.
World leaders, including the Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki, have called for better relations between the North and the South to exist as the two sister nations split.
In an article dispatched to newspapers, the UN chief said on the day of its birth, South Sudan will rank near the bottom of all recognized human development indices.
“The statistics are truly humbling. It has the world’s highest maternal mortality rate. Estimates of illiteracy among the female population exceed 80 per cent. More than half of its people must feed, clothe and shelter themselves on less than a dollar a day,” Ban wrote.
Critical issues of poverty, insecurity and lack of infrastructure must all be addressed by a relatively new government with little experience and only embryonic institutions, the UN chief said.
Ban said when he first visited South Sudan in 2007 – an area of 620,000 square kilometres with less than 100 kilometres of paved road, he was able to see the magnitude of the political challenges facing the country.
Within this larger context, the risk of increased violence, harm to civilian populations and further humanitarian suffering is very real, he wrote.
He, however, also noted the absolute potential that the new country wields, with its substantial oil reserves, huge amounts of arable land and the Nile flowing through its centre.
South Sudan could grow into a prosperous, self-sustaining nation, capable of providing security, services and employment for its population.
The World Bank announced a US$ 75 million trust fund for the South Sudan this week and urged the country to immediately begin work on its macro-economic issues.
-0- PANA MA 8July2012
