Youths, gelweng leaders called on to help voter drive in Lakes

By Manyang Mayom

November 13, 2009 (RUMBEK) – The Commissioner of Rumbek East County, Mabor Mayen Wol, has called upon Gelweng leaders to join hands in voter registration efforts in Rumbek East County.

Gelweng are armed cattle guards whose role in local security arose during the civil war, when they were armed by SPLA. Since the 2005 peace agreement, their role has neither been formalized entirely nor repudiated. Rumbek East County was a leading zone of inter-clan confrontation but now has less tension, according to the county official.

Voter registration lasts throughout November ahead of Sudan’s national elections that are scheduled to take place in April 2010. For Lakes, a state that has been riddled with violence and cattle raiding, the commissioner’s invitation is an implicit acknowledgment of the dire need for better security if the voter drive is to succeed.

“Our voter registration is going well but Nuer cattle raiders are a headache disturbing Rumbek East community. Nuer youth cattle raiders looted an unknown number of cows here at a cattle camp called Mayok, just a distance of 10 km away from Rumbek East County headquarters at Aduel centre,” said Commissioner Wol.

He said that “Cattle raiders were my biggest problem in this county and in fact I have invited all cattle keepers to be a part of solving problems in this county; I have formed various leadership of Gelweng at respective camps and they are now cooperating in their work”.

He also added that fighting each other over cattle or land ownership has now been reduced among pastoralists of Rumbek East, whereas the remaining challenge is the Nuer raider. “I have disarmed all youth in my county, there are no guns in their hands and their cows are being looted just by the neighboring state.”

Commissioner Wol affirmed that “wrestling remains an option in this Rumbek East County instead of gunfire exchange that had provoked county since the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement”. When there is a difference between youth in a dancing place that occur during the dancing performance, then immediately we order them to face trial while other youth continue their dance without discriminations, he said.

During a recent meeting attended by youth Gelweng leaders held under a mango tree at county headquarter, Mayom Marier arrived to headquarters and delivered a message in about Nuer youth having looted their cows and now running toward Unity State.

Rumbek East youth at the meeting remain provoked by the developments and requested that the commissioner provide them with guns. Commissioner Mabor declined the requested and asked youth to remain calm. “The government will bring back your cows, don’t worry,” he told youth at the meeting.

COW THIRST

County youth stated that their cows are very thirsty and there is no grass for them to feed on. They wish to move their cattle to a particular toch (grassland), but this request is being blocked by the commissioner. He said that they must first hold a meeting on how they will move their cows to the toch and what type of security could be provided to protect their cows and lives in this faraway toch.

However, a youth present at the meeting noted “There is not enough water this year in Lakes state River Bar-Naam; our cows are in a dangerous situation”.

VOTER REGISTRATION SLOW

The Director of Political Affair in SPLM Lakes state SPLM secretary, Chol Dut affirmed that voter registration is going on in other counties very well such as Yirol West County which is leading since registration began last week, Yirol West had 17,077, Yirol East County had 7411, Rumbek Centre County had 10809, Rumbek East County had 14612, Cueibet County had 15201, Rumbek North County had 348, Awerial County had 7800 and Wulu County had 295. If we summed up this record alone, it brought us total of 66153 in registration dated 10th to 11th of November, 2009.

However, Deputy Governor and a Minister for Local Government and Law Enforcement Agency Lt-Col. David Nok Marial Buot affirmed that Awerial County has a low turnout because this county had been affected by Mundri clashes. Thousands of people in Awerial were displaced and now all those Internally Displaced People (IDPs) are facing lack of water, food, shelters plus medication.

Rumbek North County has also been affected by inter-state conflict and a lot of people were displaced from their original home in Maper County headquarters. He also blamed the National Election Commission (NEC) for wrongly locating voter registration centers in places that are not near to population. The NEC has located registration centers at roadsides leaving rural communities away. A voter is required to come in person to be registered. There is no access for older people to turn out for voter registration because of remote distance.

Lakes state government officials have also discovered that NEC has failed to manage it obligation to provide transport to staffs that are carrying our voter registrations in their respective centers.

There are difficulties in this voter registration because awareness was not raised enough in the community to understand what registration could be used for. The community fears the registration saying that all those records will be turned into taxation by the Government of Lakes state later in the future.

(ST)