Profile in Governance: Jemma Kumba, Governor of Western Equatoria State, Sudan

EN FRANÇAIS

INTERVIEW BY JACQUELINE O'NEILL
GV CONTRIBUTOR

Formerly a member of parliament in Sudan’s National Assembly, Jemma Kumba is now the country’s only woman state governor. Her challenges are immense: Sudan is striving to maintain a fragile peace and rebuild after more than 20 years of civil war. Kumba is managing the return of thousands who fled during the war, trying to develop a public service and entire ministries from next to nothing, building infrastructure, and overseeing the blending of cattle-herding nomads with a population increasingly dependent on agriculture. Kumba’s state, Western Equatoria, borders areas of fighting in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Central African Republic, and is threatened by ongoing conflict in Northern Uganda.

Kumba speaks here about tackling her state’s enormous needs for stability and reconstruction, why more women need to be in decision-making positions, and how it can happen.

What does it mean to become governor of a state emerging from decades of war?
People have high expectations for an immediate peace dividend. The peace agreement was signed, the war ended, and people expect everything to change. We’ve been through a terrible war and gone decades without reasonable roads, potable water, housing, health care, education, etc. Development can’t happen soon enough. Everything is a priority. 

Even though the civil war has ended, there’s still great instability in my state. Our economy is becoming more focused on agriculture, yet there are still large numbers of nomadic cattle farmers returning to the area. They’re struggling for access to grazing land and their huge numbers of cattle are having an enormous effect on the environment. We’ve also been deeply affected by conflict in the region. The Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) of Uganda has terrorized citizens, displacing more than 30,000 people and seriously obstructing reconstruction.

Where do you start? How do you prioritize?
One of the first things I did was reshuffle the cabinet to ensure that all counties and major community groups are represented. Power sharing and political marginalization has always been a source of conflict and instability in Africa. As a woman, I also know the importance of having truly representative, diverse voices around a decision-making table. Following the signing of the peace agreement in 2005, I was the only woman member of the advance team my party sent to Juba, the southern capital. I was given the nickname Nakiden, meaning ‘the only girl among boys’. We fought for a 25 percent quota for women in the Government of South Sudan and as governor; I made sure we maintained that level in my cabinet. I knew our government would be stronger if it truly represented the people.

Bringing along most of my ministers, I organized a state tour, traveling to almost all ten counties to listen to people at the grassroots and acquaint myself with their situations and their problems. What we heard during those conversations formed the basis of the state’s broad strategies and sectoral policies.

We now have a number of initiatives underway. Food security is a big issue so I’m focusing on agriculture and opening up feeder roads to connect rural farmers to markets in the center and the capital. Most counties are now connected by a telecommunication network and we’re working to install a local FM radio and television station to help disseminate information about the peace agreement, upcoming elections, and state policies. I appointed a gender and HIV/AIDS advisor and launched a public awareness program. I also established a new financial management system to minimize mismanagement of public funds and am trying to attract foreign investors to develop the private sector, particularly in agro-forestry.

You’ve said that reforming the public service has been one of your biggest struggles. Why?
To meet our enormous challenges we need a lean, efficient, and effective public service. What we have now is over-employment and a huge lack of accountability. I’ve had a lot of problems with people who don’t prioritize transparent management of resources and are resistant to change. I believe that when the reforms are complete, they’ll understand the importance of the changes and see resources being spent on development that truly benefits the state and the people, especially those at the grassroots.  

How have people in your state reacted to having Sudan’s only woman governor?  What difference do you think it makes to have a woman in your position?
Reactions vary. In the beginning, some men doubted my capacity to handle the task and didn’t want to be governed by a woman, but fortunately, few felt they could say so openly. Some people thought that as a woman, I might bring positive changes and that people would be more likely to listen to a mother! I’ve always stressed – beginning at my inauguration ceremony – that people should not look at me as a woman, but as their leader and governor.

That said, I think that there are unique advantages to being a woman leader. People need to feel connected to their government and part of that is feeling comfortable approaching and having access to people in power. A lot now call me Mama Jemma and feel they can come to me as they could come to a mother who listens to them, cares, and genuinely wants to solve their problems.

Women also raise issues that men sometimes think are not important. We know that ‘gender’ is a development issue; ensuring women’s access to health care, education business, and decision-making broadly, is the quickest route to reconstruction. Issues like women’s ability to inherit land or attend school are not ‘extras’: they’re core to our development. As a member of the national parliament, my female colleagues and I tried to make sure the country’s budget was gender sensitive. Without that consideration, a lot of important issues would have been overlooked. 

How can people outside the country support Sudanese women seeking greater roles in decision-making?
To start, you can’t underestimate the importance of role models and of practicing what you preach. In 2007, I was a member of parliament in Sudan’s national assembly. UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon, traveled to Khartoum to help spur a new round of peace negotiations to end the conflict in Darfur. He gave several speeches and interviews about the critical importance of having an inclusive process and including women throughout. In a closed-door meeting with the speaker of parliament and the heads of key committees in the national assembly, he repeated the same message, insisting the government, political parties, and rebel movements consult and include women. I attended as head of the Economic Affairs committee – the only woman at the table.

At the end of his remarks, several men spoke but when I raised my hand, the Secretary General immediately turned to me, saying again that it was important to hear from “the women.”  I thanked him for his support and noted that I too was calling for women to be involved in the negotiations and had long been trying to convince colleagues of the same point. “However, Mr. Secretary,” I said, “you undermine my message that the world thinks it’s important for women to be at the table when the head of the United Nations comes to town and doesn’t have a single woman in his own delegation.” He paused and looked around, noticing for what I’m sure was the first time that all of his advisers were men and that I was the only woman in the room.

We can’t just say inclusion is important. Every delegation, every cabinet, every mission, every senior leadership team has to include women. Every time.

The Comprehensive Peace Agreement calls for elections in 2009. What could encourage more women to run for office?
There needs to be political will, legal frameworks (such as constitutional quotas), and supportive policies, but women also need specific technical support.

One of the biggest challenges to women running in elections around the world is a lack of money, and it’s no different in Sudan. Women usually have less access to money than men do and we’re not nearly as comfortable or experienced raising funds. Women often end up being used as campaign managers for male candidates and in turn support men instead of supporting other women.

Women want to influence issues that affect their lives, but don’t usually see politics as a vehicle for doing so. They’re told that politics is for men. That needs to change. 

Women need equal access to education and training on specific topics like how to run a campaign, speak in public, advocate for themselves within their political party, and more.

Women also really need encouragement. We need it from men and we need it from each other.  In 2006, as a member of the national assembly, I helped form a women’s parliamentary caucus – the only cross party caucus in the legislature – and was the vice chair. We made important contributions to the budget and to law-making, but we also supported each other as women. We understood what it was like to balance our family obligations and to be in predominantly male political parties. The support and encouragement women can give each other is really important when women are considering entering politics and shouldn’t stop once they get there. Women in leadership should build up other women for similar roles, not see them as threats.

How have other women influenced you?
One of my friends in Kenya was key in encouraging me to accept an appointment to the national assembly. I wasn’t sure I wanted to do it, but she explained the advantages and challenges of political life. I remain grateful to her because my experience in parliament has helped me in my current assignment. It was good exposure and experience.

I’ve had wonderful experiences with women from other countries, particularly in Africa. I saw women in Rwanda becoming the majority in parliament and gain adequate representation in executive and other structures. I met many other women when I was one of five Sudanese parliamentarians nominated to the Pan-African Parliament, the legislative organ of the African Union. I headed our delegation and competed against male candidates to become Deputy Chair of the Committee for Cooperation, International Relations, and Conflict Management. 

It also meant a lot to me to receive words of encouragement from people in Sudan and around the world, including from mentors and colleagues in Inclusive Security’s Women Waging Peace Network. 

What impact do you want to have on women in Sudan?
 I established a special scholarship program for 20 secondary school girls from very disadvantaged families, including war orphans, as a means of empowering women across the state. I’ll continue to help them even when I am no longer governor. My objective is to see all 20 girls work hard and go to college.

Women and girls in my state tell me they have more confidence and self-esteem when they see me as governor. They say I am a role model for them to look up to and that this has a positive impact on their attitudes towards themselves and other women. They say, “if she can make it, I can make it too.” That means the world to me.