Rumbek Residents Complain of Insecurity Shortage of fuel and insecurity along the supply routes for goods from neighbouring towns and countries in Rumbek Lakes state has led to the scarcity of food and non food items. 07 January 2015
January 7, 2015 (RUMBEK) – Most shops remain closed as shop owners say they cannot be able to travel outside the town to get more supply. Moses Ater, a local businessman in Rumbek who sells food items says the supply route has also been a challenge due to the presence of insecurity hence the closure of most shops and no supply. “I sell maize flour, sugar and some non-food items but now I have not gone to get fresh supply in Uganda – I am fearing for my own safety on the road – if I travel by air to Juba, then my return to Rumbek must be by land but all roads are insecure, I cannot make it anymore – it is very risky because people are being gunned down without reason in Rumbek.” Widow Mary Aker, whose husband and sons were killed during one of the cycle of revenge attacks, is a groundnut seller in Rumbek market. She explains her struggles. “It is very hard, every day I walk to get groundnuts and I come sell them in this market – I can get 50 south Sudanese pounds yet the government still wants tax on this little money. I lost my two sons and my husband but I struggle to get food for myself.” According to Mary Aker, the public in Rumbek have lost total trust in their government. The government has been viewed as an enemy to the people. This she says is due to the fact that the cycle of revenge attacks has never been handled by the government. “The public have lost trust in the Lakes state leadership – everyone is not happy with the current leadership in Rumbek. People are dying and nobody seems to care. Everyday there is a highway robbery happening and government is not responding. People are living in fear.” Another soap seller says that the market has become like a ghost town with very few people turning up to buy a few basic things. “Life is very difficult in Rumbek, no people in the market to buy soaps as usual – everyone fears for their lives because people are sometimes being targeted and killed inside the market.” Most petrol stations have run out of fuel and have since remained closed since last year November. Lakes state has been blighted by cattle raiding since South Sudan gained independence from the north in July 2011, and continues to be locked in a cycle of inter-clan clashes and revenge killings. Youth activists and traditional authorities have repeatedly called for the removal of the caretaker governor Matur Chut Dhuol amid claims he has failed to stem the violence. -- To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/d/forum/southsudankob View this message at https://groups.google.com/d/msg/southsudankob/topic-id/message-id For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout --- 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]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/SouthSudanKob. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/SouthSudanKob/CAJb14ornoT7qg-ucCNUH8VyZ-dO1S45qBPLtgb83KE-Vze%3DUsA%40mail.gmail.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
