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When South Sudan becomes the world’s newest country on Saturday, in a long-wrought split from the Khartoum government in the north, it is going to be uncomfortable in more ways than one.

Speedy tarmac laying, assiduous sweeping and practice rallies cannot disguise the fact that the capital, Juba, remains a dusty town with container crate sand tents for hotel rooms and dirt roads for thoroughfares, heavy with armed soldiers.

How then, to host 30 African heads of state, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, senior western diplomats and assorted sizable retinues? The options are slight. So tight is supply that even a poky container-crate room regularly goes for $200 a night. Stay at the Chinese-built Beijing Juba Hotel and watch a brave chandelier sparkle amid swaying prefab walls, while clocks boldly display the time in those two most critical global hubs: Beijing and Juba.

So full is the tiny national airport, it has been forced to close down to commercial flights for days as state planes jostle for apron space. Foreign secretaries must share planes and hundreds of journalists arriving to document the independence celebrations are frantic for a bed.

Desperate to emulate the pomp that greets such state occasions the world over, what is the answer for a brand new country keen to win foreign investment, spur business and show its best side to the world? Why, with only days to go to the big day – commandeer, of course.

“Please be informed that you are requested to hand over the keys to the committee as from the date of this letter,” said a note dated July 4 and hand-delivered to a long-stay hotel guest by a Chinese staff member who, so embarrassed at the shame of turfing out a loyal customer, feigned not to know English.

“Treat this as important and urgent to avoid inconvenience,” the state requisitioning letter went on. Given that the government is drawn from former rebels familiar with decades of fighting, and truckloads of armed soldiers are a common feature on the streets, guests are fearful of any hint of “inconvenience”.

Several ambassadors and mission heads are based in hotels, a nod to the dearth of secure buildings supplied with power, water and sanitation. Several of these diplomats were instrumental in winning the peace and signing the 2005 deal that brought decades of civil war to a close.

So it was not surprising that some hotels, who face a tough business environment at the best of times, hired lawyers to fight back. One hotel, furious at the impact on loyal clients who have nowhere else to turn, managed to force the government’s hand: they would reluctantly turf out the short-stay residents – many of whom had reserved their places six months before and were already ensconced in their rooms – but not the long-stay.

One high-profile recipient of another note turned to a senior politician, who promptly signed and sealed an exclusion. But not everybody is lucky enough to have friends in high places when they are turfed out of bed.

Related reading:
Sudan’s partition faces rocky road, FT
South Sudan in economic tussle with north, FT
Unrest grows ahead of Sudan split, FT