Religion in the Public Sphere: The Role of the Sudan Council of Churches in Promotion of Good Governance in Juba County in Central Equatorial State.

Abstract

NYOMBE SANTO TONGUN NOEL (2009-M091-10010) Religion in the Public Sphere: The Role of the Sudan Council of Churches in Promotion of Good Governance in Juba County in Central Equatorial State. The study aimed at examining the role of the Sudan Council of Churches (SCC) in promotion of good governance in Juba County. The study was guided by three objectives: to identify factors responsible for the promotion of good governance in Juba County, to access the activities of SCC in promoting good governance and to suggest appropriate strategies that would help SCC to promote good governance. The study was carried out from one selected Faith-Based civil society organisation in the public sphere: the Sudan Council of Churches. The study looked at the role of SCC in the promotion of good governance in Juba County Central Equatorial State. The study used a case study research design in which both qualitative and quantitative methods were used. A self-administered questionnaire and an interview guide were the instruments of data collection. The collected data were presented in frequency counts, graphs, pie charts and score tables with varying percentages calculated. Interpretations and drawing of conclusions were made according to the number of occurrences on each item. The study findings revealed that: the challenges of good governance should be accepted and handled well in order to enhance socio-economic growth and development. Ignoring the challenges of good governance affects negatively the development processes. On the other hand accepting and embracing the challenges enables leaders and politicians to practice good governance of the people. The study concluded that: there is a strong relationship between SCC and the promotion of good governance. Therefore, the leaders and politicians opt to take a serious concern on the challenges of good governance. Furthermore, in planning, decision making and implementation of socio-economic activities, all the stakeholders should be involved in identifying the challenges of good governance. And in order to achieve good governance the challenges of good governance should be accepted and handled well by the leaders of the people and politicians. Lastly, in my own perspective, the management of policies should be subjected to adjustment whenever deemed necessary especially on the challenges of good governance. The study recommended that: good governance challenges should be accepted and addressed by leaders and politicians accordingly in order to bring about growth and development in the state. Furthermore, institutional politics and propaganda always compromises the good and workable policies and procedures which consequently affect the implementation processes. Therefore, such practices and tendencies should be vehemently discouraged to safeguard the common good of improving the livelihood of the local person. Lastly, there is still a great need for the leaders and politicians to appreciate and recognise what the SCC staff members are doing for the well-being of the people, because the people‟s good will is encouraged to support developmental activities in the area. Key Words: Religion, Public Sphere, Sudan Council, Churches, Good Governance, Juba County.