Can Adut Salva Kiir (ASK) Deliver on the Hype Amidst Economic Turmoil in South Sudan?
ASK Adut Kiir Mayardit and Gen Deng Garang Bany
By Dr. Luka Geng Geng, Juba, South Sudan
Saturday, 30 August 2025 (PW) — A wave of unprecedented public fervour has greeted the appointment of Adut Salva Kiir Mayardit as Presidential Envoy on Special Programs. In over fourteen years of closely observing South Sudan’s political landscape- from the days of hard press to today’s digital arena, I have never witnessed a reaction of such intensity. The public discourse is electrified, brimming with a potent mixture of desperate hope and soaring hype. Yet, this collective outpouring raises a critical question: in a nation brought to its knees by economic ruin, conflicts and systemic graft, are these hopes not perilously over-inflated?
Social media is awash with effusive praise and countless open letters addressed directly to her. Most strikingly, some have anointed her with the Dinka adage “Wun weng aci ben — the owner of the cow has arrived.” This phrase, heavy with expectation, implies that the one truly invested in the herd’s welfare is finally here to set things right. But this optimism is starkly disconnected from reality: the national barn is not just empty; it has been systematically stripped bare by the very hands once entrusted with its care. The weight of a nation’s longing is resting on her lean shoulders, yet the treasury she is expected to draw from was depleted long before her arrival.
The nation’s economic lifeline—oil—has been severed by the conflict in Sudan, causing government revenue to evaporate. Hyperinflation rages, and civil servants go unpaid for months. Against this backdrop, the promises of “special programs” appear not just paradoxical, but practically impossible. The millions of hopes for better healthcare, education, and infrastructure are crashing against the hard rocks of economic despair and a legacy of mismanagement. The public’s faith is asked to ignite anew, but the kindling of tangible resources is simply not there.
Therefore, the central dilemma is not about Adut Kiir’s personal potential, which many acknowledge, but the practical means to execute it. What resources will she use to fund her special programs? Judging her success by the metric of grand, expensive projects would be a profound fallacy. Her true test will not be her ability to spend, but her courage to reform and her ingenuity to mobilize what little remains.
However, her success cannot be a solo mission. No individual, regardless of their position or name, can single-handedly bring change. Her potential can only be realized through the concerted support of a dedicated team and the unwavering cooperation of all stakeholders in governance. She must leverage her unique position to forge alliances, not dictate terms; to unite technocrats, ministries, and community leaders behind a common agenda of transparent and efficient use of resources.
Her mission, therefore, must include to championing a new collaborative ethos: attracting and shrewdly managing donor funding, ruthlessly prioritizing low-cost, high-impact interventions, and instituting ruthless accountability. This means investing in health system reforms that prioritize critical, life-saving indices over promising complex hospital structures that may never be reachable to the vulnerable and poorest. It means delivering visible, grassroots victories to rebuild trust brick by brick, proving that a new way is possible.
Adut Kiir now stands at a historic crossroads. One path is well-trodden: it leads to isolation and unmet promises, further eroding the fragile faith of a suffering citizenry. The other path is far more difficult but transformative. It requires her to become a catalyst—a convener who uses her unparalleled platform to advocate for the systemic reforms South Sudan so desperately needs, demonstrating that real power lies not in control, but in collaboration.
The hopes are understandable, but the hype must be tempered with a cold, hard focus on realism. With overblown hopes seen, the nation is not just watching; it is waiting, yearning for a sign that this time will be different. The owner of the cow has arrived. But the critical question remains: will the herdsmen join her to save the cow? The answer will define not just her legacy, but the very future of the herd itself.
The author, Dr. Geng Geng, is a dedicated medical professional with extensive experiences in the field of Medicine and Public Health. For contacts, he can be reached [email protected]
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