Donors; “The GOSS Functionality Is Biggest Achievement” According to Michael Elmquist, Head of Joint Donor Team, JTD, the biggest achievement during the interim period is the full functioning Government of Southern Sudan. He spoke to Gurtong in an exclusive interview at the JTD Head Office in Juba.12 April 2011 Mr. Michael Elmquist during an exclusive interview at JTD Offices, Juba [©Gurtong] Waakhe Simon Wudu JUBA, 11th April, 2011 [Gurtong] – According to Michael Elmquist, Head of Joint Donor Team, JTD, the biggest achievement during the interim period is the full functioning Government of Southern Sudan. He spoke to Gurtong in an exclusive interview at the JTD Head Office in Juba.
“It has been amazing how the government has been able to keep the country (To be confirmed in 9th July 2011) together in elections and during the referendum,” Elmquist revealed. He said that, starting from scratch and after two decades of civil war between the North and South, there are stable standing government institutions in Southern Sudan. However, Elmquist underestimated the low capacity of the private sector and construction of the country in which he said remains a persistent challenge for the South Sudanese Government in diversifying its development. He further reiterated the commitment of the JDT in working with GOSS to address these challenges. “We are very concerned with economic development in Southern Sudan, but it’s very much the government’s responsibility to work hard,” he said. Elmquist continued that the government should explore other various sectors of economic development and not to rely only on oil. “There is a huge potential in Southern Sudan, huge land for Agriculture. We would like Southern Sudan to be food independent,” he said. He added that, it is a shame for the region to import food from other countries despite its rich natural land. The GOSS Minister of Finance and Economic Development in a recent press statement said that, 98% of the South Sudanese revenue comes from oil. Following its establishment in 2006, JDT has donated about 500 million US dollars aimed to diversify development in the areas of capacity building, construction and providing basic services amidst the interim period. JDT was established in 2006 by four donor countries; Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom, later they were joined by Denmark and Canada. The JDT contributes development funds in to a basket pool to assist in developing South Sudan. It is the second largest to Multi-Donor Trust Fund-MTDF, a foreign donor to the Government of Southern Sudan. Posted in: Home -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "JFD info" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/jfdinfo?hl=en.
