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Question 2. Given the emerging scenarios, what and how
do you think INGOX needs to engage to make a difference for South Sudan?
I have always considered INGOX to be one of the leading agencies in transitional development,
and my impression has been reinforced by the activities of country directors in the field.
I believe that its dedication to performing such a role and the existence of independent
funding place INGOX in a unique position to demonstrate its efficacy and willingness to
modify its humanitarian interventions as the conditions on the ground change. With this
organizational flexibility in mind, let me return to the urban planning triage approach
I alluded to briefly above. South Sudan has access to natural resources
and the revenue generated by such commodities, as well as to a dedicated cadre of foreign
consultants who wish to see South Sudan prosper. The international community is currently providing
a substantial amount of funding, and South Sudan's access to credits, grants, and loans
will only improve once statehood is legally formalized in July: presumably, a newly independent
state and member of the United Nations will be able to trigger even more development mechanisms
in the future. In this supportive context, INGOX could develop
a model based upon the geometry of a wheel, with a town representing the hub, and villages
the spokes. Depending on the wheel size, the rim could intersect other rims, as in a Venn
diagram. If INGOX applies a multidimensional approach to the hub, push and pull factors
could contribute to economic development and, at the same time, empower the social nexus.
More specifically, the objective would be to create a town from the ground up, with
all sectors being injected with cash, trade appropriate tools and implements, training,
mentoring, and support. INGOX could use its resources and knowledge to help create a hub
that would meet its own criteria for successful socioeconomic transformation.
If a strong town hub is created with roads linking villages from the rim inward, commerce,
knowledge acquisition, and capacity building could flow along the wheel in both directions.
The hub town would have courts, police, medical facilities, electricity, running water, and
so on; the outlying villages would have services and opportunities for redress within a reasonable
distance (as defined by the locals). The Sudanese's customary adaptation to challenging logistics
and love of their hometown should contribute to the success of such a structure, which
would in turn allow the psychology of equal access, free and safe population movement,
information exchange, and success to radiate throughout the wheel.
The triage aspect of urban planning means that certain areas and sectors must be strengthened
before others. Systematic implementation must be planned to foster diverse multiplier effects
so that a form of gentrification can proceed without pulling everyone from the periphery.
Collaboration between the locals and socioeconomic experts to determine the triage strategy should
encourage a more realistic synthesis of competing ideas, which could empower all stakeholders
during stabilization and reconstruction efforts.