South Sudan Panyinjiar county need assistance

Jan 7, 2007 — For those who have no idea, Panyinjiar is located South of the Unity State in Southern Sudan. It borders Yirol, Rumbek and Leer counties; it is also situated a long the Nile basin in the Sudd. Citizens of this county are agro-pastoralists whose livelihoods depend on agricultural activities and livestock keeping. The county has two administrative headquarters at Nyal and Ganyliel. It was formerly administered at Bentiu and later moved to Leer. However, during the second phase of the civil war in Sudan especially in the late 1990s, Panyinjiar became a home to thousands of internally displaced people from the oil fields around Bentiu. Also lack of access to it by the authorities in Leer left them with no choice but to let it alone. As a result it was rendered its own administrative status as a county. Now it is an independent county with its own commissioner and representative in the Government of Southern Sudan. Panyinjiar is a land lock county with no formal roads linking it to other counties. Most of its supplies as delivered by NGOS are dropped or transported through the Nile. Consequently, its residents find it hard to trade with people in Rumbek, Yirol and Leer because of transportation and communication obstacles.

Despite the fact that some of the former IDPS have left the county after the Comprehensive Peace Agreement was signed in 2005, a few have found permanent home in Panyinjiar and may not leave any time soon. These people and inhabitants of Panyinjiar are suffering from hunger and diseases due to two consecutive seasons of flood which devastated the county.

In the last two years, heavy rains and over-flooding of the Nile barred families from cultivating and as a result hunger has become widespread in the county. According to three lost boys from the USA who visited Panyinjiar in March and November, 2006 respectively, it is facing a lot of problems but “hunger poses a major threat than any other” calamity in that county. The boys are still worried that the same might happen again in 2007. Lately, floods have become so recurring in the county and a solution to prevent such from occurring every year is needed. The effort will require both GOSS and the Unity State Government to act.

First the GOSS and the Unity State government need to supply emergency food and other supplies to the people whose livelihoods have been disrupted by the floods. Secondly, with the assistance of the GOSS and Unity State government a dyke need to be build a long the banks of the Nile to prevent the floods from destroying farms and homes in the future. Thirdly, roads to Rumbek, Yirol and Leer as well as other links to neighboring counties need to be opened. This would enhance commercial activities between counties. Panyinjiar needs assistance now than ever and GOSS and the Unity State government must and should do something.

The GOSS need to reach out to land locked counties like Panyinjiar in situations of hunger and floods for if one person or a group of people in Southern Sudan is suffering the overall progress is slowed. Citizens of Panyinjiar are Sudanese and the governments need to help them. Also Unity State receives 2% share of oil besides the 50% resource dividend allocated to the GOSS. If today there are no roads, no emergency assistance from the Unity State government to the counties within the state like Panyinjiar, who is the government there to serve and what should the state citizens conclude about how the state is run?

For that reason, both governments need to act. There is no doubt that the people of Panyinjiar will make sacrifices to help alleviate themselves from their current state of suffering but alone nothing great will be accomplished. Therefore, GOSS and Unity State government should act now.

By Justin Machien Luoi

Note: Justin Machien Luoi is a Sudanese residing in the USA. He can be reached at [email protected]