Should the South share Sudan’s foreign debt?

The governor of the Central Bank of Sudan, Mr Saber Mohamed Al-Hassan, said that before the referendum next year South Sudan must take responsibility for a share in the country’s foreign debt.

Southern leaders have rejected this request, saying that they were not responsible for incurring the debt and the money was used to kill and suppress the Southerners in a 21 year civil war, so how could they be asked to pay for this.  

Governor of Central Bank of Sudan Mr Saber Mohamed Al-Hassan

The debt is said to be estimated at US $34 billion and Khartoum has failed to convince her creditors to repeal the amount. Thus the federal government in Khartoum is seeking to share the debt with the South before the referendum and possible Southern independence. Pagan Amum, the Secretary General of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) and former rebel leader, said The National Congress Party should be held fully accountable for the debt as this money was used to kill us Southerners mercilessly during the war”.

Last year, a senior member of the National Congress Party (NCP) and speaker in the national assembly, Mr. Ahmed Ibrahim Al-Tahir, warned that Khartoum would use a law that would hinder the Southern referendum scheduled to take place early 2011. Is this a strategy to make self-determination an impossibility, some may ask?  

This call for sharing the debt also seems to be indirectly advocating a divided Sudan. Up to now, we've been told that the National Congress Party (NCP) are campaigning for a united Sudan. Is this a signal that the banking boss has given up with the campaign for a united Sudan and thus is preparing to part ways with the South?

But first, we should find out a little more detail about this 34 billion dollars. Who was reponsible for borrowing this money and if the South was involved in refunding the debt, what would the benefits to the South be if any? A neutral body needs to be set up to go deep into the files, roots and footprints of how the money was spent and to discover who benefitted from it, before any legitimate call can be made to the Southerners to help refund the debt.  And this perhaps should also lead to the revaluing of all the national assets to share it with the South before the referendum, so that both North and South will be satisfied with the reasons for sharing the debt.  

Up to five years ago, the North and South were at war for a horrifying 21 years. Southern towns that were were captured by the North were used and abused along with their education, health and infrastructure.  With or without partition, a bridge needs to continue to be built between North and South, so we are accountable for the past spending and responsible for all our futures.