S. Sudan president decrees northern oil workers should return despite
Unity state clashes
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By Bonifacio Taban Kuich
April 26, 2011 (BENTIU) - South Sudan President Salva Kiir Mayardit
has issued a presidential degree asking Unity state governor Taban
Deng Gai to allow northern Sudanese oil workers to return to work in
state.
Northern oil workers were evacuated after militia under the control of
Peter Gatdet Yaka clashed with the South Sudan army (SPLA) in Mayom
county that has claimed the lives of over 35 civilians and soldiers
since April 19. Gatdet announced his defection from the Southern
military in March complaining of corruption and bad governance.
On Tuesday, Garang Ding Aguok, a government of South Sudan minister
for energy and mining visited Unity state to investigate why the state
governor decided to evacuate northern workers at such short notice.
Ding said that he found that the Unity state government had taken the
decision in order to protect the safety of northerners within the
state, as many civilians had been angered by the heavy loss of life in
the Mayom clashes.
All the 130 workers have been returned to work according to local authorities.
The South Sudan government and army claim that Gatdet is backed by
north Sudan’s ruling National Congress Party (NCP) in order to
destabalise the oil-producing region. Khartoum has denied that it
backs any of the seven rebel groups fighting the Juba government of
the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM).
Gatdet joined the SPLA in 2006 after a 2005 north-south peace deal
made the former rebels the only legal armed force in the south, apart
from joint units of the northern and southern armies, which will now
be dissolved following the south’s vote for independence.
The Republic of South Sudan will come into being on July 9 following
January’s plebiscite. Gatdet, who for much of the civil war he had
fought against the SPLA while being backed by Khartoum, has declared
that he intends to overthrow the southern government. According to UN
figures over 800 people have been killed and over 90,000 displaced in
fighting in South Sudan since January’s largely peaceful referendum.
Unity state governor Taban Deng Gai said the reason the 130
northerners workers had been evacuated from the oil field was to
promote better security. Gai added that oil production continued at
the normal rate despite the lack of engineers caused by the
evacuation.
Of the engineers on site 28 were northern Sudanese, one was an expat
and one southern Sudanese. While the northern workers were expelled,
the expatriate staff demanded to be evacuated but were not after they
received security guarantees, the governor said.
The Unity state governor said that for the last week oil production
had continued with only the one southern Sudanese engineer at the oil
production base in Manga.
Following an immediate evacuation of the oil workers on the 19 April
after SPLA clashes with Gatdet’s militia - known as the South Sudan
Liberation Army (SSLA) - about 300 northerner Sudanese are estimated
to have left Unity state.
The Unity state governor said Tuesday that oil companies must recruit
all drivers and cleaners from the area and not employ northern
Sudanese to do these jobs as per an agreement between the state and
companies.
Greater Nile Petroleum Operation Company (GNPOC) says it will send 25
Southern Sudanese employees abroad for training.
(ST)
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