The Sudan Handbook

196 thE sudan handbook

overlapping control over aspects of state government. States have assem-

blies and ministers, but the governors wield the greatest power through

their links to the ruling party and its security agencies. In many southern

states, there have been bitter struggles between state assemblies and the

governors, who have been accused of continuing the kind of autocratic

style of government they practised previously as military rulers. Through

the continued appointment of governors and commissioners, both the

Government of National Unity (GoNU) and the Government of Southern

Sudan (GoSS) thus exercised direct control over the state governments,

which in turn devolved little real power to local government. State and

local governments have also been hamstrung by limited resources, most

of which are swallowed up by government salaries (and corruption).

It remains to be seen whether the newly elected state governors will

exercise greater autonomy than their appointed predecessors.

In the south, the SPLA had relied heavily on chiefs during the war

to organize provisions and recruitment or conscription of young men

and boys into its forces: this was a difficult role for chiefs, who often

suffered personally from physical abuse by the soldiers, and yet also

risked losing popular legitimacy. Since around 2004, the SPLM has

made more concerted efforts to acknowledge and come to better terms

with the chiefs, often aided by international organizations hoping that

traditional authority and customary law might answer some of the

governance dilemmas in the south. Accordingly, a major role for Tradi-

tional Authorities and customary law has been stipulated in the GoSS

Local Government Act (2009). The CPA extended the federal structure

of states to southern Sudan, underneath which the SPLM local govern-

ment units of county, payam and boma have been retained. The Local

Government Act envisages councils at each of these levels, together

with Traditional Authorities and a corresponding hierarchy of customary

courts and councils. Local government has so far centred on the chiefs,

supervised by county governments under county commissioners, who

are in turn appointed by the GoSS.

On the one hand, throughout the last century, decentralization has

The Sudan Handbook, edited by John Ryle, Justin Willis, Suliman Baldo and Jok Madut Jok. © 2011 Rift Valley Institute and contributors largely existed on paper only: a series of administrative reforms have

(www.riftvalley.net).