INTERVIEW: Yirol West Commissioner describes education, security woes

By Manyang Mayom

January 6, 2009 (RUMBEK) — Agok Manyiel Dhieu Lam, the commissioner of Yirol West County reflected on the experience of his two year in power, describing insecurity and challenges in education facing the county during an interview with Sudan Tribune held Saturday afternoon.

Lam, who hails from Geer Payam, home town of Aluakluak whose tribe is known as Apaak.

Yirol West County has seven Payam that include Geer, Aluakluak, Anuol, Abang, Mapuordit, Genggeng and Yirol town payam as well. Yirol West is in a distance of 75 miles away from Rumbek central county. In the war period Yirol was only one county but with the peace deal signed in 2005, Yirol was divided into three counties that include Awerial, Yirol East and Yirol West, which is also the centre.

Manyiel is the second commissioner since the peace, replacing Akec Maciek Yor on March 15, 2007. He said that the population of greater Yirol was 120,000 according to the 1984 census but now it has increased too much.

Yirol West community usually spoken verbal language that the do called “Thokreel” whereby majority of population belonging to Yirol West community do use to pronounce “Thiljieu” which mean no bad. County of West is most dominated by beer and one bar is dictated for youth with stand broad reader “youth bar”.

“Education in Yirol West has a lot of challenges since the county has only 24 primaries, seven adult schools operating at evening hours, including two senior secondary schools of which one called Mapuordit is controlled by the missionary Diocese of Rumbek (DOR) while Panker senior secondary school is owned by Government of Southern Sudan under monitoring of Lakes state ministry of education,” said Manyiel.

There are only 22 teachers teaching are two senior secondary school and these 22 teachers are composed with Sudanese, Kenyan and Ugandan and still their accommodations is also difficult. However, in 2007, Panker senior secondary school student quit Sudan school certificate examination complaining that syllabus are different from what they were taught for as well Southern Sudanese children are taught for East African curriculum,” Manyiel affirmed.

“The policy once belonging to the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) is to see into it that girls’ child education has to be encouraged and to educate one woman is the whole nation, we had talk at churches and all family had accepted the education to go head for girl child in Yirol West county,” Manyiel expressed.

Furthermore, girls child education in Yirol West is on daily preaching from traditional authority and county authority to allow girl child to school, about 40% of girls have been allow to school due to donations from relatives and missionaries supplying materials for girls.

Manyiel said that only two Payams are indeed behind in education: Geer Payam and Anuol Payam, which have only two primaries. There is lack of classes and teachers and also salaries cannot be disbursed on time. The issue of distance is also big challenge to children as they sometimes have to cover a distance of three miles or four miles to reach school. All schools in Yirol West are day schools.

The government has decided to open adult education so that girls who left school early due to pregnancy can at least attend their classes at evening hours.

The official also added that there are a few healthcare centre operating here in Yirol West that include Genggeng, Abang and Yirol county hospital as well Mapuordit hospital with support of DOR. “The ministry of health has done little because their last year funding was indeed very small. Yirol hospital is supported by an Italian organization and indeed last year the Italy renovated the county hospital; there are infection sof TB, HIV/AIDs and stomach diseases found,” Manyiel noted.

INSECURITY

Youth inter-clan fighting in Greater Yirol counties has killed 139 civilian from 2004 to 2007. On December 29, 2008 at Anuol Payam, two clans of Yirol West county fought over the grass land area in a place called “Kuemku” and the fight was Ajuong and Kuak that resulted in three people killed and four seriously injury by gunshot. After fighting started over cow and girl, with thieving and revenge, the killing continued because more grievances are not facing justice quickly as most wanted by the community.

Commissioner Manyiel said that “I am in voiceless with regret to have lost 139 people in greater Yirol and this is a great lost.”

“Now in Lawa cattle camp Lt. Col Joseph Mading Akec has managed to capture the culprit and we have mobilized the police forces to control the area of zone fighting,” said the commissioner.

Manyiel ensured that since his appointment to become a commissioner, only least 33 people had been reported killed in a period of 2007-2008.

“There were serious confrontation between Awerial county, Yirol west and Yirol east, but we managed it with my colleagues Commissioner of Yirol East and Awerial commissioner Mr. Enock Malualcaoc; we reconciled youth as well greater Yirol elders are supporting us to bring peace among these counties.”

“The sectional fight was a big headache to our state government. In 2008, we three counties of Yirol has called a peace conference to be held here in Yirol West County in a good ceremony that was attended by Deputy Governor and minister of local government and law reinforcement agency, that peace is now our lasting peace non of three county has not violated the resolution and we are indeed enjoying our peace. The conference was facilitated by three Counties and chiefs with support from government of Lakes state. The venue of peace conference was at Lakes Yirol river side well-known as ‘Government Garden under more mongo tree’,” he said.

“Nevertheless, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) county secretary was ambush and killed on August 28, 2008, in a place called Pakuojiak, the late Michael Ater Deng was kill at a distance of 18 miles from Yirol west county also six miles away from Yirol East county. We were really in shock to have lost him and we defiantly accused Western Upper Nile State of having a hand in killing of SPLM county secretary. The robbers are belonging to Western Upper Nile state and they Nuer sons,” he said.

This is not the first time Nuer of Western Upper Nile committed such mistake: in May 2008, they always hijacked road workers belonging to Hiya Company and they shot two workers wounding them.

“On November 12, 2008, a quarrel between SPLA and police broke out at police station resulted into one soldier kill and one seriously wounded,” said commissioner. “The cause of fighting was a women belonging to a policeman was engage by one military man and disappear with woman for few day but at the least woman appear again with new husband as well her real husband work at police station; he saw her and immediately he started calling his wife down from the truck but the military man refused to allow the woman to her ex-husband.”

However, in that day Commissioner was in military uniform and he attempted to shoot one SPLA officer with pistol but in an interview he denied the attempt saying, “I am still active in military list and I am responsible for the security of this county of which I cannot decide to shoot anyone.”

Moreover, Commissioner Manyiel appealed to Lakes state government and the government of Southern Sudan (GOSS) to send in more judges to solve cases in Greater Yirol counties. “We need more judge to be near us and police to handle the trail of people who are found guilty. We need judge to setup rule of law so that those who kill must to paid blood compensation without failure. Police investigators are doing their work very well,” he said.

On January 4, gunfire was heard over Yirol West County for about four hours, resulting in eight infuries, including one policeman who was wounded in the cross fire. According to the commissioner, a group of students who came back home from Uganda to celebrate Christmas with their family were responsible. “This is a doorstop to peace and these students who cause insecurity are now captured and they are on trial undergoing for investigations,” he said.

Manyiel added that this insult was used as a chance by Jiellek clan and Kook clan to revenge their people but County authority has used her powers to discontinue such move.

DEVELOPMENT

The distance of 75 miles from Rumbek Central County to Yirol West County is really very bad, roads are not maintained and there are seriously deep holes found on roads to greater Yirol. Infrastructure in Yirol West is only 50% because little survey was done last year and more people were displaced and there no is land yet allotted to them since displacement in 2008. There are construction projects going on in Yirol but at the Western part of the county a lot of works are stalled waiting for survey first to pass before construction work probably starts again.

The county has developed Pandit with two new building as classrooms and two nursery schools. Meanwhile five students are already sent to school by county authority scholarship; they are now at Khartoum University and Kampala Makerere University. Every year two students from each Payam of Yirol West county are given a scholarship. “I hope the next commissioner will take care of this student’s scholarship if my term comes to an end,” Manyiel.

Manyiel stated that the majority of Muslims here are traders and the pray near their shops without a loud microphone because there is no mosque for them to hoist up their microphone at the moment, since it was destroyed by bombs during the war.

He also added that “about 200 citizens are from northern Sudanese and Darfurian people, who are mostly making their business on good terms with county citizens here and no reports of harassment reach my office. They are bringing goods and prices are reduced from high rates of last year and we are happy for that action. Yirol West Market is not regulated by law because Lakes state ministry of Finance, Trade and Industry did not send the laws but hopefully they hope to get marketing prices laws that this county authority will based their decision on.”

The employment at this county also is done according to the Ministry of Labour and Human Resource, people are employed according to local government mandate and there are no cases of corruptions, he said.

“In our taxation 40% of local tax revenue goes to the state and 60% remains at county level,” Agok affirmed.

(ST)