Governors Blamed For Rising Insecurity In South Sudan South Sudan Interior Minister, Aleu Ayieny Aleu, has blamed state governors for rising insecurity in the country, saying governors have not dedicated time to attend to the matter. 03 December 2013
*By Waakhe Simon Wudu* *JUBA, 03 November 2013 [Gurtong] - *“All the 10 states with exception of Central Equatoria…there is no Governor now sitting in his own office. They all come to Juba here to find out what is happening,” Aleu said while addressing governors on Friday during a forum in Juba. He charged that several of the governors and the state ministers hardly sit in their offices to attend to issues affecting their states, a factor affecting good governance in the states. An attack took place last month in Jonglei State where tens of people were killed, wounded and displaced and the minister said it was due to lack of concentration by governors to prevent the citizens that leading to the incident. An estimated 80 people mostly civilians were killed in Jonglei State following the rebel attack in Tui East County. about 80 others were estimated to have been wounded with hundreds being displaced. The minister also expressed dissatisfaction on the role played by the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) peacekeepers in Jonglei. (READ: South Sudan Interior Minister Doubts UNMISS Peacekeeper’s Role In Jonglei State <http://www.gurtong.net/ECM/Editorial/tabid/124/ID/13970/Default.aspx> ) “Comrade Vice President when the massacre took place in Bor, there was no single Minister in Bor. They all come here [Juba] to lobby for their positions,” said the Minister. Aleu challenged the governors to put more efforts to wipe out the challenges in the states, charging that it is the responsibility of the governors to ensure citizens are adequately protected from any form of insecurity. He also called for more funding of security activities in the states be taken into consideration by the National government, saying that the 30,000 South Sudanese Pounds allocated to states by the National government to govern internal security is little. South Sudan Vice President James Wani Igga during the forum also challenged the governors to march more efforts in fighting insecurity in their various states. Speaking during the closure of the governors’ forum in Juba, Igga called for the governors to focus on creating stability in an effort to create peaceful environment for investment, development and agriculture. “It is our sole responsibility Honorable Governors to ensure there is a political stability in each of the States,” Igga said. Insecurity in South Sudan even after the country gained her independence in 2011 has remained one of the biggest challenges hindering the building of the new nation despite government’s continuous allocation large chunk of the country’s annual budget to the security sector. The problem has continued to remain a major challenge with both government and its partner, UNMISS trading accusations of each not performing its role. It has continued to scare away several investments in the country more especially in the private sector. However, the Western Equatoria State Governor Joseph Bangasi Bakosoro during the forum challenged the central government way of dealing with the states, saying any mistake committed by a particular state is charged on all the states. (READ: Governor Challenges Central Government Policies<http://www.gurtong.net/ECM/Editorial/tabid/124/ID/13969/Default.aspx> ) -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "South Sudan Info - The Kob" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/SouthSudanKob/CAJb14ootrBGPFtyAzhWvLy4U9hHce2WEm1pJW-kVbxg_QfYJCQ%40mail.gmail.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
