Donors, government strengthen capacity-building in South Sudan
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By Julius N. Uma
March 30, 2011 (JUBA) - The Joint Donor Team (JDT) member countries
and officials from the southern government have agreed on processes
for strengthening capacity building areas in South Sudan’s
post-referendum era, Michael Elmquist, JDT’s head of office said
Wednesday.
The new initiative, he clarified, will focus on key areas like public
financial management, income tax management, development of essential
legislations, establishment of a new currency and how to manage the
key oil sectors.
Other key areas of focus, according to Elmquist, will be on the basic
social service needs of the population, citing improved health
facilities, provision of additional educational institutions and
training of teachers.
“Shortage of schools, limited number of teachers and even lack of
enough reading material tend to hinder educational development, hence
the need to support these areas,” the JDT head of office said.
Already in the process, he told Sudan Tribune, is the development of
South Sudan Development Fund (SSDF) plan, currently in its draft
stage. The plan, he added, will form the basis for all development
activities in the country. “The first comprehensive draft of the
fund’s plan is expected in mid-April before it’s taken through a
series of constitutional procedure. The JDT is only providing
technical support by offering its team of experts to the process,”
said Elmquist.
FUTURE OF THE MDTF-S
On the future of the Multi-Donor Trust Fund for Southern Sudan
(MDTF-S), the JDT head said the funds; initially earmarked to end this
year has been granted an additional one year extension. The MDTF-S is
fund was established in 2005 to coordinate funding the construction
and development needs of South Sudan
“After the end of this one-year extension, the MDTF will be no more.
What we will have is probably funds meant for certain specific areas
like health and education, among others,” he said.
The MDTF-S consists of 14 contributing external donors as well as
funding from the southern government. To date, donors have reportedly
contributed a total of $524.31 million to the MDTF, while the southern
government has reportedly injected $178.6 million.
The JDT was established in 2006 by four donor countries, the
Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom, later to be joined
by Denmark and Canada. The team coordinates its policies with an
advisory group of embassy representatives in Sudan’s capital Khartoum,
and reports to a Strategic Management Board (SMB), which consists of
the heads of the respective agencies in capitals.
South Sudan is due to become independent after an overwhelming result
in favor of secession in a referendum in January. The plebiscite was
agreed as part of a 2005 peace deal that ended decades of conflict,
which severely hindered the development of the South. The region will
officially become independent in July.
(ST)
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