Northern Bahr el Ghazal calls for urgent support to disaster victims
By Ngor Arol Garang
September 14, 2010 (MALAKAL) – Authorities and people from the southern state of Northern Bahr el Ghazal have launched an appeal for more support to the increasing number of flood victims and the repair of damaged infrastructure and crops.
James Mawien Arol, the deputy county secretary for the Southern Sudan Relief and Rehabilitation Commission (SSRRC) in the state made the appeal at an emergency meeting held with relief organizations in Malual Kon, Aweil East County.
The meeting was convened in the wake of downpours that caused flooding and destruction in the past few days, which according to statistics have affected over 89,000 people across the area.
The official told the weekly coordination meeting attended by representatives of national and international organizations operating in the area that climate change and variability continue to pose formidable challenges to the developmental efforts and the quest to improve the lives of the people.
The heavy downpours of the rain in the state continues to experience in recent weeks, which culminated in floods that have caused havoc to communities and infrastructure, can be ascribed to climate change.
“As a government therefore, we cannot sit on our laurels and allow our people to suffer without taking appropriate steps to ameliorate this formidable problem. It is against this background that the government and people of Northern Bahr el Ghazal state demonstrated once again its usual caring, high-minded gesture and commitment by mobilizing physical and moral supports to victims of floods throughout the affected areas,” said Arol in his message read out at the forum.
He disclosed that experiences from seasonal occurrences have it that the rains might continue up to mid-October 2010. Asked about the current situation, he said there has never been rains for last three days in Aweil town but reports reaching the commission are showing that more and more people are experiencing floods in all the counties and payams in addition to the infrastructural damage that would require huge resources and logistics support to repair and maintain.
Arol said relevant institutions and NGOs would play a key role to ensure efficiency in the delivery and coordination of assistance.
He also added that alternative potential donors are encouraged to provide assistance directly to the state crisis management committee, adding that the office of the governor should be informed accordingly.
(ST)
Mike Mike
Northern Bahr el Ghazal calls for urgent support to disaster victims
Where did Northern Bahr- El Ghazal state government was expecting to get support for her flood victims? I think the stage which our government is at the moment is qualified to provided any necessary support to its people and there is no where they should think to receive support for its citizens. That habit of leaving your own people to be threatened by the minor condition is not fair and we will not be able at all to build a strong nation in Africa and on the world. The current government of South sudan is not very poor to leave her people be faced by the condition while there are a lots of services of which government can even feed those families whom their house was been destroyed by the heavy rain flood instead to call elsewhere for assistance. What assistnce do you need to be done for them? You have every thing now at your hands which kind of the support do you need to be given to them.