understanding land investment deals in africa - Oakland Institute

provide the local community with some protection.The proposed location, however, is adjacent to Murleand Jie pastoralist communities and would make theMaruwa community more susceptible to cattle rustlingand intertribal conflict. Furthermore, the company hasnot yet delivered on its promise of infrastructure andservices in the new location, and the community isreluctant to move until the company performs on itsobligations.The community also has cultural and spiritual reasonsfor opposing the move. Maruwa is the ancestralhome of the Murle “Red Chiefs.” 136 Murle society istraditionally divided into “Red Chiefs” and “BlackCommoners.” The Red Chiefs are considered to beleaders of the community who are given a privilegedposition for their ability to reconcile grievances amongcommunity members. For instance, if a Murle commitsmurder, the first thing he will do is run to the home ofone of the Red Chiefs. If he reaches the Red Chief’shome, he is considered to be under the protection ofthe Red Chief until the case has been resolved.Complicated displacement patterns in the area haveobscured the community’s historical claim to the landin Maruwa. In an interview with OI researchers, aninternational organization operating in Boma claimedthat the communities living in the vicinity of Al Ain’sproject facilities only moved to the area in recent years,after the signing of the CPA. 137 Local residents, on theother hand, report that they were actually displacedfrom the area during the war and were only recentlyreturning after having lived as IDPs elsewhere in SouthSudan. 138 Upon their return, they found that the areahad already been given to Al Ain for their ecotourismventure.Rising TensionsAt this writing, the events surrounding the relocationof the community in Maruwa are coming to a head.In July 2011, according to a local resident, the Ministryof Wildlife repeated its request for the community torelocate from Maruwa. When the local chief refused,he was reportedly told that if the community does notmove voluntarily, then they will be forcibly evicted by thegovernment. Negotiations are still ongoing betweenthe Murle leaders and the government. However,according to a local resident, the Murle leaders havesided with the government and it is highly likely thatthe community will be forced to move from the area.The implications of such a massive relocation of peoplewould be far-reaching; not only are the chances ofconflict greatly increased due to competition over landand resources between the relocated community andthe communities already residing in the area, but thechances of conflict between the Murle community, AlAin Wildlife, and the South Sudanese government arealso increased. The Al Ain project vividly illustrates howlarge-scale land investments in a volatile post-conflictcontext such as that of South Sudan can drive conflictwhile at the same time benefiting from conflict. If thecommunity in Maruwa had not been displaced fromits ancestral homeland during the civil war, it wouldhave been far more difficult for the company and thegovernment to lay claim to the land in the area. Now,as a consequence of the social and administrativechaos in a post-conflict state, communities who havestruggled with high levels of poverty, food insecurity,and conflict, are being forced once again to uproottheir lives in the name of investment and its elusivepromise of development.Citadel Capital and Concord AgricultureThis case study examines investments in South Sudanby an Egyptian equity firm called Citadel Capital. In2009, Citadel Capital, through a portfolio companyConcord Agriculture (previously known as the SudanEgyptian Agricultural Company (SEAC)), obtained a 25-year lease to 105,000 ha of land in Gwit and Pariangcounties of Unity State. According to the managersat Concord, the purpose of the investment is to growmaize and sorghum for sale primarily on local markets.The company has not yet produced its first harvest,but it has developed 830 ha (3,500 feddans) of itslandholding and, at this writing, was preparing the fieldfor the summer crop. 139Despite the clear recognition of community landownership in the 2009 Land Act, many governmentThe Oakland Institute understanding land investment deals in africa: south sudan | 36