Lakes state opens new ministry building in Rumbek

By Manyang Mayom

December 10, 2008 (RUMBEK) — The Lakes state governor officially opened the new building for the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources in Rumbek on Wednesday. The opening ceremony was attended by two government of Southern Sudan ministers, Dr. Samson Kwaji, the GOSS minister of agriculture, and Dr. Pasto Kumba, the GOSS minister of animal resources.

The governor of Lakes state, Lieutenant General Daniel Awet Akot, arrived in Rumbek on Wednesday afternoon after several weeks of absence due to his medical care abroad. Awet had spent at least three weeks in Germany attending treatment, apparently due to back pain.

The new building of the Lakes state Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Fishery and Animal Resources was donated by the European Union (EU) and contracted by UNOPS in conjunction with the Southern Sudan Recovering Capacity Programme (SRCP). The SRCP is carrying out projects in five states of Southern Sudan, said David Tong.

The newly built ministry headquarters features 13 offices and one big hall. This is the first time in Lakes state government’s history that it has achieved such a development project since the state government was formed in 2005 after a peace deal was signed in Nairobi, Kenya, between the rival National Congress Party (NCP) and the former rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Movement /Army (SPLM/A).

The ceremony was colorful and moving for the Lakes state citizens who attended to observe the high-ranking officers, folklife and police brass band as the governor hoisted up the New Sudan flag, though Sudan’s national flag was conspicuously absent.

Lakes state minister of Agriculture, Forestry, Fishery and Animal resources Engineer Chol Tong Mayay introduced the program and he called upon the Lakes state community to join him in cultivating farms in the area by next year.

Dr. Samson Kwaji spoke that during the war period southerners worked hard to import food from Kenya and Uganda, but now they should try to work hard to have their own food within their country.

Subsequently, the Minister of Animal Resources Dr. Pasto Kumba said that this is high time for Southern Sudanese to make use of trade in attractive animals. She noted that Dinka have a lot of cows and these are not available in Yambio, Western Equatoria state, so Dinka should sell these cows to them, then use the profits to create businesses that can bring food.

“We had a big wealth and let us make this wealth of ours as aspiration,” she recalled.

Then the governor affirmed the use of the ox-plough as the best technique in Lakes state because Rumbek is sandy land, he said, in contrast to Equatoria where one cannot use the ox-plough because the land is rocky.

Awet said that oil money is nothing, but urged his fellow citizens to use agricultural schemes to bring enough money. Southern Sudan’s budget, which comes mostly from an oil revenue-sharing agreement with the northern regime, has dropped precipitously with the declining price of crude oil.

“We are now improving our police as you have all witnessed that there is no single military man around in this state any longer,” said Awet. He cried out for Lakes state lawmakers to unite with the executive so that high inter-clan fighting is reduced to normal.

“The power struggle has led us nowhere and if we avoid such struggle, I hope we will be the best state to win agricultural scheme in Southern Sudan. Please work hard Lakes state agricultural staff and let us avoid discrimination among ourselves,” Awet affirmed. He appealed to Lakes state community to accept surveying as well as noting that cultivations within the town are soon to be extended outside the town just a distance of a few miles from the town centre.

Furthermore, the SRCP has donated four land cruisers, two of which are pick-ups and two hard-tops, and also eight Honda motorbikes imprinted by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), which were included in the donation to four counties of Lakes state, Awerial, Rumbek East, Yirol east and Rumbek north.

However, the office furniture is supposed to be shipped from Dubai to Juba before the end of this year, said the EU representative. He affirmed that internet and computers are going to be made available in the new building before Christmas. Last week, the Lakes state minister of Agriculture Chol Tong officially opened the veterinary office in Wulu, a distance of just 18 miles from Rumbek Central County.

Until 2006, the Lakes state Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Fishery and Animal resources was headed by former minister Khamis Abdulatif Chawuol Lom, despite the fact that he was still a member of NCP, though he resigned from NCP to join the SPLM in 2007 at Akon Buoi garden.

There is still a foundation of an uncompleted agriculture ministry building dug near Lakes state legislative assembly. The construction was halted due disagreements between the former minister and former state governor John Lat in 2006. The former minister was criticized by the cabinet for trying to persuade the public to build a ministry by his own mandate, and they termed him as a NCP cadre member against the SPLM.

This disagreement between Lom and ex-governor Lat resulted in throwing John Lat from the governorship on September 5, 2006, whereupon Lieutenant General Daniel Awet Akot was appointed by Government of Southern Sudan (GOSS) president Salva Kiir Mayardit to quell high insecurity in Lakes state territories.

The state government has stalled development projects due to the high risk of insecurity and mismanagement of public funds as well as the power struggle that has grown since 2006 until recently the executive and SPLM Lakes state secretariat joined some MPs in impeaching the assembly speaker before he was reinstated by President Kiir. Yet there is still political turmoil that has submerged discussion of next year’s budget.

(ST)