The bare necessities

I stared up hopelessly at the shower head trying to will the water to come out, but there was none. After a long hot day there is nothing better than getting home and cooling off in the shower, but on this occasion I was going to have to wait.

It was a few hours later after supper that I saw a small vehicle with a large tank. These water trucks provide water around the city and I have seen a few since I have been here, just today I saw a similar one for sewage. The provision of water in this way not only has the problem of water outages, but also raises the cost of water supply. The cost of supplying water to the periphery areas of the city may be greater still, which is of special concern as this is where the poorest and most vulnerable tend to be settled.

In a similar way electricity here is produced by diesel generators which can be expensive to maintain and run, especially with the high cost of fuel. I have frequently found myself groping around for my torch when the power has gone out or struggling to sleep because there is no power for the fan.

People, who have travelled to parts of the developing world, or the younger industrial countries, may be used to cheaper prices than are found in Europe or North America. In Juba, however, the cost of living can often be quite expensive. The lack of a developed domestic economy is one of the reasons for this. Without the infrastructure of a proper power grid or water supply these basic utilities become much more difficult to acquire. But in addition food, fuel, construction materials and capital goods are for the most part all imported from Uganda or other bordering countries (the roads to Uganda are the best so most goods come this way).

Not everything is expensive. Bottled water can be bought for the equivalent of 20 pence (30 cents) and a basic meal can be bought fairly cheaply. But at one restaurant we visited the food prices were similar to those in the United States or England. Accommodation is also costly. While I am looking for somewhere cheaper than my current room ($75 a night), this is already a low price for somewhere that provides security, water and a fan. Most hotels are $100 a night or more.

There is, therefore, some urgency for South Sudan to be able to build up its domestic industry and agriculture base in order to supply basic goods. Until this happens a decent standard of living will be out of reach for a large part of the population. On a recent trip into town I saw a number of shops selling electronic goods – cameras, stereos and computer equipment. Some of these shops seemed well kept and had new, attractive, furnishings. With peace and independence many of the comforts and luxuries of modern living have penetrated into Juba. But these are costly imports, available only to the small new elite of businessmen and foreigners. For the majority of the population there is hardship enough in just obtaining water, food and power.

Juba - a city under construction

As I came in to land at Juba airport I could see mud huts, not more than a hundred yards from the runway. I am told that the new international terminal at Juba airport will be complete in a year. The construction work is unavoidable (literally) as we walk through an area of building work to get to the car on my most recent visit to the airport to get my visa signed and pick up a group from South Africa.

What the new terminal will be like I don’t know – but I imagine it will be something quite modern, in contrast with the existing arrivals area. This is nothing but a large room. Soldiers are very evident around the place (some with assault rifles), but there are no real barriers and there is no division between immigration and baggage collection. The latter is, in fact, just the area immediately in front of one of the windows where luggage is passed in from a tractor and trailer that brings it from the plane. The ensuing scrabbling to claim bags makes me think much more fondly of the orderly lines at Heathrow. The departures room next door is not much different. It is larger and with a security check at the door where bags are put through an x-ray machine – but this is significantly less rigorous than, for example, the security check to go up the Sears Tower, let alone the security that I am used to at O’Hare or Heathrow.

In many ways the Airport represents the city in microcosm. While conditions are very basic the evidence of construction is all around. At the ECS (Episcopal Church of Sudan) office that I have been going to each day we are in amongst the work; mud, sand and materials are scattered all over the compound, and a large pile of dirt sits just a few meters from the door. Across the road a multi-storey building is being erected. I am told that the workers on that building are Sudanese, but the ones working in our compound are Ethiopian. The construction trade seems to be healthy in Juba, and despite a huge growth in population over the last 6 years there seems to be jobs enough to attract outsiders.

In 2005 the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) was signed, ending the Second Sudanese Civil War – one of Africa’s longest running conflicts at 22 years. From speaking with local people it is clear the impact that peace has brought to the growth of Juba. I am told that in 2005 if you stood by the main road in Juba you would go three hours without seeing a car. By 2006, when some of the main roads began to be paved, there would be vehicles as frequent as every half hour. Now in 2011 I sometimes struggle to find a gap in the traffic in order to cross the street. Population growth has seen a similar remarkable boom since 2005. Estimates of the population in 2005 and 2006 are around 250,000. Now I am told that there are probably a million or more inhabitants of the city. This represents an annual growth of the city population by 30% or more. In comparison, Raleigh, North Carolina, one of America’s fastest growing large cities, had an annual growth rate of a little under 4% per annum between the 2000 and 2010 census (growing from 276,000 to 404,000).

As may be the case for much of Africa the main investors in South Sudan are Asians: Indians, Chinese, Malaysians, Japanese and others. I hear from one person that when someone goes out and spends ten pounds in Juba, two pounds will probably go to the Tata Group (the largest private corporate group in India). Many of these investors, however, are more interested in the oil fields that are far to the north of Juba.

My role here in facilitating investment from the UK in agriculture is somewhat different from many other international arrivals. With a large market for food in Juba and fertile land nearby there is certainly a need for agricultural development. At present a great deal of Juba’s food, as well as other goods, are imported from neighbouring countries. This is a consequence of the brutal civil war that has taken two million lives, stalled development and displaced a majority of South Sudan’s population, often repeatedly. Recently there has been renewed conflict over the disputed region of Abyei and claims of ethnic cleansing in the South Kordofan (north of the South Sudan border, but with many people culturally connected to the south). However, if independence can bring a lasting peace to South Sudan, there seems the promise of great things for Juba.

On the plane ride from Heathrow I was impressed by the quality of Kenya Airways, which lives up to its slogan – “The pride of Africa”. On the short trip from Nairobi to Juba I read a magazine on board that has advertisements for new villas being developed along Kenya’s coastline. They look modern and comfortable. Kenya (and in particular Nairobi) is seen as the region’s financial, communications and transport hub and is the largest economy in East and Central Africa. Hundreds of thousands of tourists visit Kenya every year bringing in hundreds of millions of dollars. Although growth has been mediocre, there has been average growth since 2000 of 3-4% and the country may now be on the cusp of greater expansion of 5-6% over the next few years.

I have great hope that with stability and self determination the people of South Sudan will be able to attract the same kind of investment, tourism and development that Kenya has and maybe even surpass it in rates of economic growth. Perhaps in a few years I will come to visit a Juba that looks quite different from the one I am in today.