Jonglei’s acting governor promises to bring foreign investment
September 26, 2013 (BOR) – The the acting governor of Jonglei, Hussein Maar, returned to Bor on Thursday from a trip to the United Kingdom and expressed hope that investors would come to his state.
“We want some people to come and invest here in this state because we have all potentials and all the natural resources which are here”, said Maar.
The acting governor said that some companies were interested in investing in the state may visit within the next three weeks.
Jonglei’s government has made many attempts to attract foreign investment but has been largely unsuccessful due to the state’s conflicts and chronically poor infrastructure.
“Without peace there is nothing we can actually get here, let us work together to see that Jonglei is peaceful so that investment opportunities are created in the state”, Maar said.
It is not yet known whether president Salva Kiir will appoint Maar to be the permanent replacement for Kuol Manyang Juuk, who was promoted to defense minister in August’s cabinet reshuffle. Maar had previously served as Manyang’s deputy.
Under South Sudan’s transitional constitution, if a governor is replaced a new gubernatorial vote should take place within three months. There are currently no indications that an election will take place in Jonglei before the national elections scheduled for 2015.
(ST)