Joint ministries of information coordination meeting closes in Juba JUBA, 1 December 2011 – The annual joint ministries of information coordination meeting closed in Juba today. The closing remarks were given by the Director General of Information, Mr. Mustafa Biong Majak. In his remarks he said that the Minister, who is away, was very concerned about the meeting and had assured before his departure that he would consider some of the recommendations.
Mr. Biong said that they are concerned about the states and that the Ministry had tried to hold this meeting last year but failed. He was thankful that the BBC suggested financing this meeting this year. He added that people had been very busy since the referendum and the independence. He said that the workshop’s deliberations reflected problems being faced and the recommendations reflected the reality at the state and even national levels. Because of this situation there had been complaints by those in the Diaspora as some could not catch up with SSTV news especially in Canada and Australia due to time difference. He added that 24hrs service was needed. He said that the Ministry would try to have a special budget in order to overcome this. “Our plan in the Ministry is to have all the ten states and even in some counties own TV and radio stations. Some counties like Raja which is 220 miles from the boarder – should have its own”, he said. The DG said that as the participants go back to their states, the message they should go with is a promise from the national government that “we” will do something. He said that preparations for a supplementary budget for 2011-12 and even the 2012-13 budgets were underway. Some of the recommendations would be taken care of by the Ministry, while donors would be approached to support the others. “If we want strong media, we have to get technical support and equipment that can cover all the 10 states”, he said. The DG closed by thanking the BBC and UNICEF for making the meeting a success. He added that he hoped that within two months some of these recommendations will be a reality. Reported by Rosemary Chacha Insolvency Bill, 2011 is passed to third reading JUBA, 30 November 2011 – Hon. Dengtial A. Kuur, the caretaker chairperson of the Committee of Legislation and Legal Affairs tabled the Insolvency Bill, 2011 in its second reading to the South Sudan National Legislative Assembly in its sitting No. 33/2011 held in Juba today. The Bill is in accordance with Regulation 99 (1) of the adopted SSLA Conduct of Business Regulations 2010. The Bill was a result of sitting No. 3/2011 of the First Session dated 17th August 2011 in which the Hon. Minister for Justice tabled the Bill for the first reading. The Bill therefore was referred to the Committee of Legislation and Legal Affairs for consideration and scrutiny before being presented to the August House for more deliberations and discussions. The committee worked on the amendments, recommendations and observations that are summarized in 84 points. After short deliberations the August House passed the Bill into third reading with amendments, recommendations and observations. During the same sitting the Hon. Tongun Lodu Rombe presented an urgent and important motion on security around Juba City, which was, seconded by 24 Honorable Members. He came up with following reasons behind insecurity: 1.The low and irregular payment of the organized forces; 2.The insecurity is caused by “Niggers”; 3.Poverty and increase in population; 4.The criminals are living in un-demarcated areas; 5.Low response of the police at night; 6.Slow response by the Judiciary in sentencing the criminals in prisons; 7.No clear policies from the Government of Central Equatoria State on land allocations for those who do not own land; and 8.The presence of bars and lodges in the residential areas. Hon. Rombe stated that these criminals have murdered about 49 people this year. The Caretaker Chairperson of Defense, Public Order and Security Hon. Aleu Ayieny Aleu said that there is no act which can prevent the illegal arm owners, no traffic laws, and immigration laws to manage the inflow of foreigners. He also said that there is no labour act for foreigners. Hon. Daniel Deng Mongdit of Rumbek North said that there are no national identity cards to differentiate between South Sudanese and foreigners and no community police. The appointment of four government officials such as the Audit General, Ambassador Steven Kiliona Wondu; Chairperson for Anti Corruption Commission, Justice John Gatwich Lut and his deputy Mr. Johnny Saverio; Chairperson of Human Rights Mr. Lawrence Kodis Korbandi and his deputy Mr. Biel Jock Thich were vetted and approved. 108 voted for approval while 81 members opposed the appointments as 16 members abstained. The sitting was attended by 189 members. Reported by Clement Aturjong Kuot Joint annual coordination meeting of the states ministries of information kicks off JUBA, 30 November 2011 – The State ministries of information and telecommunications today began a two-day Joint Annual Coordination meeting in collaboration with the BBC World Trust. It was opened by the Deputy Minister for Information and Broadcasting, RSS, Hon. Atem Yaak Atem. In his opening remarks, the Deputy Minister said that the workshop is highly welcome and has come at the right time. He said that the BBC had been involved in training South Sudanese media professionals since the 1970s adding that Mr. Mustafa Biong, the Director General of Information, was one of those who benefitted. “I also did my research in Britain with the support of the BBC”, he said. Hon Atem also described the BBC is a top broadcaster and therefore state ministries are getting top training. Hon Atem said that he is more concerned with news reporting at the state level than in Juba. He said that 95 percent of the population lives in the rural areas but coverage is “almost nil”. He added that agriculture, insecurity and such issues took place in the states. He also said that the resources are also in the states. He said that the participants would be briefed later by the DG as he has been in the Ministry for 35 years and has been in all the meetings regarding the states. “This is the person to advise you as he is an old hand”, he added. He encouraged the states officials to openly express themselves but to also be realistic in making their requests. The Deputy Minister also related how the recent retreat in Mombasa (Kenya) which was expected to be relaxing turned out to be a workshop. He said they had long working sessions and had presenters who were experts on the public service. He reported that the Kenya’s Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s main message was that Kenya had 50 years of independence and had made many mistakes. He advised the participating Ministers that as a last-born child South Sudan should learn from the mistakes of the older brothers. In particular South Sudan should avoid vices such as ethnicity and abuse of office. Hon. Atem said that after the training they met their counterparts in Nairobi in the Ministry of Information and had discussions with the Ministry staff to see how they could help. One important unit was the public information unit whose staff was sent to various ministries and counties (our equivalent of states) as press officers. The Deputy Minister urged the states to organise the training of people who will be covering the states and counties – people who would send information straight to SSTV. He said that it was the Ministers and DGs who would organise such training. He further said that the staff would have to be equipped and trained on the use of video cameras. He reminded the meeting that SSTV was viewed worldwide and that people in the Diaspora felt at home when they viewed what is happening at home. He said that the complaints emanating from these broadcasts were a necessary part of good governance. Some of the participants at the joint meeting. He concluded his remarks by reiterating the need to communicate with rural communities and vice versa. “If you come up with an agricultural project to produce tomatoes so we do not import from neighbouring countries, this kind of information should be shared. Please deliberate here how you should be heard whether in print or electronic media”, he said. During the deliberations, the participants discussed the need for greater coordination between MOIB and the state ministries. They also shared the challenges faced at the state level and ways of overcoming them. In attendance were Ministers from state information ministries, DGs and Directors, senior staff from MOIB, staff from BBC World Trust Service and representatives of the independent media. Reported by Rosemary Chacha Parliament passes the Gender, Social Welfare, and Religious Affairs report JUBA, 29 November 2011 – The Hon. Debora Ajok Garang presented a 20-page report of the Committee of Gender, Social Welfare, Religious and Youth and Sports. The Committee was to find out the repatriation of the returnees who have been in Kosti and Renk in accordance with Regulation 128 sub regulation 2 of the adopted South Sudan Legislative Assembly Conduct of Business Regulations, 2010. The committee composed of five members, is headed by Hon. Debora Ajok Garang the chairperson of Gender, Social Welfare, Religious Affairs and Youth and Sports. After the visit the committee came up with the following recommendations: 1.The repatriation of IDPs from transit camps in Kosti and Renk to different parts of South Sudan 2.The transport by barges and trains should be given priority over the other transport facilities 3.All the companies which were legally contracted to transport the IDPs should be paid 4.The August House to summon the minister for Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management 5.Some of the Specialized Committees such as Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs, Gender, Social Welfare, Youth and Sports, Finance & Economy Planning Development, Health and HIV/AIDS should be part of the committee to oversee of the process. After long discussions and deliberations the August House passes the report. The South Sudan Legislative Assembly (SSNLA) also in its sitting No. 32/2011, which was held at SSNLA Main Hall, received a motion on acute shortage of clean drinking water in the Republic of South Sudan. The motion was delivered by Hon. Paul Yoan Bonju. The motion is in accordance with regulation of 42 of the adopted Southern Sudan Legislative Assembly Conduct of Business Regulations 2010, which empowers any honourable member to raise a motion on issues of public interest. The Hon. Member explained that South Sudan is a land of many rivers such as the Nile, Kiir, Yei, Kare, Kit, Bahr El Zaraf, River of Sobat which is comprised of Pibor, Akobo – Baro. He stressed that South Sudan is rich water resources than other countries in Africa. He said that the people of South Sudan are dying daily due to waterborne diseases such as diarrhea, cholera and typhoid. Hon. Paul quoted the policies and priorities of the SPLM such as providing and improved access to clean water in order to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDG). Hon. Paul requested the August House to summon the minister for Water Resources & Irrigation and the head of South Sudan Urban Water Corporation and Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs). He requested for a full financial report on the remittance from water collection since 2005 up-to-date. The motion was seconded by over 21 Hon. Members before it was tabled to the August House. The sitting was chaired by the Right Hon. Gen James Wani Igga, the speaker of SSNLA. It was attended by 233 Hon. Members. Reported by Clement Aturjong Kuot -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "South Sudan Info - The Kob" 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/SouthSudanKob?hl=en.
