[Washington DC, TCT] On November 8th, voters here in the United States will go to the polls to elect the person who will succeed Barack Obama as President of the United States. It is possible for the US Government to undertake some form of change after 8 years.
One potential beneficiary to a change in US Policy will be the nation of South Sudan. The US did help assist in the birth of this African country but has had a checkered history of playing favorites amongst political opportunists instead of assisting a duly elected government improve infrastructure and delivering basic services to the general public.
So the question now becomes which candidate for President would be a good partner for South Sudan? It can be assumed by some her stated planks in her agenda that Hillary Clinton may maintain the current status quo when it comes to relations between Juba and Washington. So the policy of trying to impose what it sees as what is needed for the future of the country.
Mr. Trump has been running a campaign as a Washington outsider. Therefore, he is being seen as a threat inside the beltway and has been able to generate some adherents to his power base that could prove interesting. One of those key partners is the Evangelical Community. He has a sixty point lead amongst this constituency. This group was very instrumental in the formation of South Sudan. They are currently anxious about the current efforts at what they see as the attempt to remove President Salva Kiir by elements within the Obama Administration.
Since the removal of Dr. Riek Machar, there has been some restoration of normalcy within the country. There are reports of some bandit activity in various parts of the country designed to take advantage of some of the weak institutions. However, there are some people that will instigate this not for the benefit of South Sudan, but to further advance an agenda for their own personal enrichment.
Instead of development assistance, South Sudan needs investments to build infrastructure. Roads and transportation are needed in a country where most goods are moved either by boat or by helicopter. Agriculture assistance should be provided as well to offset the financial setback by the collapse of oil prices around the world.
The US has provided assistance to the security forces in the past. No matter who wins the White House, this fact is not expected to change. However, the size of the aid and the components of it could differ determining on the actual winner of the election.
All that being said, some of the rhetoric originating from the State department could change as well after a Trump victory. The syntax coming from C Street has created great angst within South Sudan and voices of support may actually be refreshing.
The author, Scott Morgan, has been the President of Red Eagle Enterprises since its inception in November 2012. He uses his experience from serving in the U.S. Marines during the Reagan Administration, attending college for Criminal Justice, Advocacy for Human Rights with Amnesty International and Writing to come up with an interesting matrix and business model. Currently based in Washington,DC he specializes in US Policy towards Africa focusing on Security, Assymetrical Operations and Business Development South of the Sahara. His Blog Confused Eagle can be found at confusedeagle.livejournal.com His webpage can be found at: http://morganscott251.wix.com/redeagleenterprises
