Jubas jubilation

South Sudan is young and resource-rich but with fearsome challenges ahead.

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Jubas jubilation

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On Saturday,the mood in Juba was euphoric. The city,the worlds newest capital,was crammed with citizens of the hours-old Republic of South Sudan,dancing on the streets,waving the young countrys flag.

Outside the mausoleum of John Garang,the leader of the regions military resistance for decades till his death in 2005,delegates from all over the world assembled to see the first government sworn in including Indian Vice President Hamid Ansari. South Sudans new president,Salva Kiir,was sworn in,as always wearing a broad-brimmed black cowboy hat; close at hand was Sudans president,Omar al-Bashir,wanted for war crimes in The Hague,but present,swinging his trademark cane,to show that Khartoum had finally consented to the Souths independence.

The challenges ahead are awe-inspiring. South Sudan has been wracked by rebellion for decades; the new country of eight million has seen little development,and the civil war claimed over two-and-a-half million deaths. By one development indicator after another maternal mortality,school enrolment this is one of the least developed places on earth. Its unity is hard-won,and might vanish once the common adversary,the Arabic-speaking North,is removed. South Sudan,close to the cradle of humanitys evolution,is one of the most diverse places on earth: 200 ethnic groups and dozens of languages.

What South Sudan has going for it is its resources. Specifically,oil. Oil-rich Abyei province continues to be disputed,but the rest of the country has productive wells,currently exploited by Canadian,Malaysian,French,Swedish and,of course,Chinese companies. The only way out for the oil,however,is pipelines through its northern neighbour,and Khartoum skims off half the profit. That will continue to be an irritant. Nevertheless,the oil revenue will need to be put to use carefully and quickly to work on the now peaceful countrys development.