Governor Kuol Manyang receiving Speaker of Council of States Joseph Bol Chan at Bor airstrip [©Gurtong]
BOR, 30th January, 2012 [Gurtong] - The South Sudan National Legislative Council of States arrived in Bor town, the capital of Jonglei State last Friday to show their solidarity in restoring peace with State citizens following recent communal violence.
The Council of State lawmakers were led by their speaker Joseph Bol Chan. Speaking briefly to the press at the airport, Hon. Bol said that, “we think it is really very important to follow the situation in Jonglei closely and that is why we are here - we are going to hold our third session here in Bor town today (27/1/2012) – we want to know what measures are being put in place to prevent the conflict from reoccurring in the future.”
James Magok Ater, a Council of State representative from Lakes State urged Jonglei politicians, chiefs and their intellectuals to join effort in bringing peace in the State. Magok pointed out that rest of South Sudanese States are not sleeping comfortably because of insecurity and bloodshed in Jonglei.
Ater said that, “why don’t you come together, the politicians, intellectuals and chiefs and ask yourself what are you doing? Why are you always thinking of destroying South Sudan - why are you always thinking of destruction.”
Meanwhile, Jonglei State Governor of Kuol Manyang Juuk urged the national government to quickly fund his State Ministries of Physical Infrastructure and Agriculture Ministry to employ the youth across the 11 Counties of Jonglei. Manyang also called upon entire citizens of Jonglei State who are carrying illegal arms to surrender their guns to the State government.
This is the first time the National Council of States Parliament of South Sudan hosts its sitting outside Juba since its establishment in 2010. This is the third session of the Council of States lawmakers held in Bor.
Jonglei State has poor infrastructure and the largest State among the 10 States of South Sudan. The Governor has made several calls for road construction but the national government has done very little.