SPLM leader John Garang: «I'm satisfied with just the roads, not the money.»

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afrol News, 11 April - The ongoing war and human suffering in Darfur cast a shadow over the Oslo donor conference for Sudan, which today seeks funds to rebuild the country after Khartoum and the south agreed to peace. Sudan's Vice-President Ali Osman Taha warned that the sanctions imposed against Sudan over the Darfur war could cost the country as much as the donors are pledging.

High officials from every continent were gathered as Norway's Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik this morning opened the Oslo Donors' Conference on Sudan. Mr Bondevik said Norway would contribute with US$ 250 million to peace and reconstruction in Sudan over the next three years in his opening remark, urging other donors to make substantial pledges to secure the north-south peace.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan answered the Norwegian Prime Minister by saying that "pledges are good, but cash is better." Mr Annan referred to earlier donor failures that had caused many peace processes to collapse during the last three decades. Indeed, half of the world's post-conflict situations had reverted to warfare within five years of a peace signing, he told donors.

The UN leader made it clear that donors often had made large pledges that later were not cashed out when other conflict situations become more profiled in the press. Devastated southern Sudan indeed had great needs, he said, pointing to the fact that 25 percent of the region's children not live to celebrate their fifth birthday. Further, only 20 percent of South Sudan's children are currently enrolled in school.

John Garang, the leader of the southern ex-rebels SPLM, emphasised on the large-scale development plans that now exist for the region. South Sudan has lived through more than two decades of brutal warfare and all infrastructure is in ruins, there is no delivery of social services and a very large part of the population is displaced.

According to Mr Garang, the new southern Sudanese administration will emphasise on agriculture, infrastructure and education. He had plans to "eradicate - not reduce - poverty." For that, there needed to be schools for all, "especially

Norway's Development Minister Hilde Frafjord Johnson hosted the Oslo conference

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girls," new or reconstructed roads needed to connect South Sudan to the north and neighbour countries and agriculture should be "the engine of growth."

The Sudanese government and the SPLM jointly seek US$ 2.6 billion in donor aid to reconstruct the country. A joint three-year development plan worth US$ 7.9 billion is to be financed mainly by Sudan and expected oil revenues, but in particular during the first year, donor support is needed. The plan includes infrastructure investments in the South worth more than US$ 1 billion, but as Mr Garang said, "I'm satisfied with just the roads, not the money."

As donor pledges started coming in, a large part of the development aid for Sudan was allocated to the new so-called multi-donor trust funds, which are to be administered by the World Bank. This way it would be made sure that aid efforts were coordinated, following the wishes of Sudanese authorities and managed in a transparent way. Wolrd Bank managing director Shengman Zhang further promised the clearance of US$ million of Sudan's arrears to the Bank.

The trust funds are to cover three geographical areas of Sudan, making it possible for donors only to sponsor their allies. One fund is for the South, which will attract many Western governments. Another is for the three most destructed provinces at the border between the North and South and the last is for development aid for Sudan at large.

A grouping of civil society organisations, including Care and Save the Children, however was sceptical to the way donor funds would be used. So far, Rebecca Dale of the International Rescue Committee told afrol News, civil society had not been let engage sufficiently in the process and there were no guarantees that NGOs would be able to dra

Kofi Annan: «Pledges are good, but cash is better.»

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w resources from the trust funds.

While the donor conference is a result of the north-south peace, the ongoing conflict in Darfur is an issue constantly referred to. Mr Garang of the SPLM, who will soon be part of a national unity government in Khartoum, promised donors that his movement was "conscious of its moral responsibilities of bringing peace to all the country," including Darfur. Vice-President Taha promised to enhance the peace talks in Abuja, Nigeria.

The ongoing conflict in Darfur puts donors in a difficult situation. While there is a genuine interest in helping Sudan to consolidate the north-south peace, the international community is on a growing distance to the Khartoum regime over war crimes in Darfur. Few Western countries therefore want to channel funds via Khartoum, although wanting to be part in the rebuilding of the South.

Vice-President Taha pointed to these double standards when he urged donors to "cancel Sudan's debt and the lifting of all sanctions" that have been imposed due to the war in Darfur. The Sudanese leader noted that the current sanctions against Sudan were undermining the country's ability to reconstruct and enhance economic growth. The sanctions could cost Sudan as much as the funds raised by the donors in Oslo, he pointed out.

Also the UN leader sent a clear message regarding the situation in Darfur. Khartoum needed to understand the reaction of the international community, Mr Annan held. The referral of war crimes in Darfur to the International Criminal Court were "not aimed against the people of Sudan or the government of Sudan, but against individuals" that had committed terrible crimes, he said. Despite of this, donors needed to help all of Sudan to secure peace and growth.

By staff writers

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