Overview : South Sudan achieved its independence from the North on July 9, 2011 after a referendum in January 2011. The 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement bore its fruit and ended Africa's longest-running civil war. However, the fifty-year long war between North and Southern Sudan bred a culture of violence that has perpetuated yet more violence. While conflict with Sudan was a result of border tensions, and disputes over oil continue even after the independence of South Sudan, the new nation has been critically confronted with internal conflicts one of which is the December 15, 2013 political dispute within the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) which degenerated into fierce fighting. The fighting which began in Juba later spread across 8 out of the country’s 10 states; taking on an ethnic trajectory. Lakes and Warrap states have been indirectly affected by the crisis as people displaced from neighboring states have arrived there seeking refuge. The new wave of armed violence created a huge humanitarian crisis, involving the loss of thousands of lives, torture, rape and other forms of gender based violence against women and girls, boys and men; destruction of property, forced recruitment of youth into armed militias. In August 2015, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), with the support of the Governments of the United States of America, United Kingdom and Norway, also known as the Troika, and in consultation with the warring parties proposed a peace agreement for signing by warring parties. All parties to the conflict immediately signed the Agreement for the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (ARCISS) between August and September, 2015. Implementation of the Agreement for the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (ARCISS) began in 2015, with the appointment and immediate functioning of the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (JMEC); the Ceasefire Transitional and Monitoring Mechanism (CTSAMM); and the JMCC. Some key milestones in the operations of the JMEC include the agreement on the distribution of Ministries among the parties (government, opposition, former political detainees, and other political parties); the presence of the opposition and former political detainees in Juba; and the establishment of the Transitional Government of National Unity. However, the security situation in South Sudan remains volatile with reports of skirmishes in many states coupled with widespread human rights violations including violence against women and girls. South Sudan's development indicators are amongst the poorest in the world and access to basic social services remains a key challenge across the country. The total population is very young, with 51 per cent under the age of 18 years. Although South Sudan has vast and largely untapped natural resources, beyond a few oil enclaves, it remains relatively undeveloped, characterized by a subsistence economy. South Sudan is the most oil-dependent country in the world, with oil accounting for almost the totality of exports, and around 60% of its gross domestic product (GDP). On current reserve estimates, oil production is expected to reduce steadily in future years and to become negligible by 2035[1]. According to the World Bank Economic Review of South Sudan, 2016, the country’s growth domestic product (GDP) per capita in 2014 was $1,111. Outside the oil sector, livelihoods are concentrated in low productive, unpaid agriculture and pastoralists work, accounting for around 15% of GDP. In fact, 85% of the working population is engaged in non-wage work, chiefly in agriculture (78%). The 2013 conflict has had a significant financial impact on South Sudan with 2014 GDP coming in at 15% less than projected. Furthermore, military expenditure has increased, further reducing the availability of resources for service delivery and capital spending on much needed infrastructure. The incidence of poverty has also worsened, from 44.7% in 2011 to more than 58.5% in 2015, with a corresponding increase in the depth of poverty (World Bank Economic Review, April 2016). One percent of households in South Sudan have bank accounts (Poverty Estimates-NBHS 2010). However, disaggregated data about the extent to which women and girls are affected is unavailable. Women account for over 60% of the population in South Sudan. However, due to engrained patriarchal cultural practices and the perceived low status of women in southern Sudanese society, women are deprived opportunities to empower themselves. Article 7 of the ARCISS calls for the establishment of an Enterprise Development Fund. Section 7.1.5 calls for the establishment of Women Enterprise Fund for the provision of subsidized credit for women-based enterprise development and capacity building of women entrepreneurs. However, in the absence of empirical data, the extent to which a given approach to WEF would yield the desired results in South Sudan remains unknown. It is against this backdrop that the study on approaches to establishment of a Women Enterprise Fund in South Sudan is being conducted. |