South Sudan: Board of directors of Road Authority inaugurated by minister

By Richard Ruati

August 18, 2011 (JUBA) – The caretaker minister of Transport and Roads Anthony Lino Makana, officially inaugurated the Board of Directors of the newly established South Sudan Road Authority (SSRA) on Thursday in Juba.

Established by the South Sudan Act 2010, the Board is entrusted with functions and powers as outlined in the Law. Objectives of the Boards are as follows:

a) recommend to the Minister from among three candidates competitively selected for appointment as Executive Director and subsequently confirmed by the Council of Ministers;

b) advise the Minister, upon request, with regard to any matter related to the objectives of the SRRA provisional order;

c) oversee the general direction and supervision of the Authority;

d) establish and approve rules and procedures for appointment, promotion, termination, discipline and terms and conditions of services of staff of the Authority;

e) approving project and program activities proposed by the committee and or/ directives; and,

f) perform any other such functions assigned and or delegated when appropriate necessary, for the efficiency and effective implementation of Provisional Order.

In his inaugural statement, Minister Makana, after thanking the members for their acceptance to serve in the Board, noted that “The Republic of South Sudan has indeed enormous road infrastructure gaps in the ten states and major cities including Juba the temporary capital of the new nation.”

The Minister said that while efforts are being made to “construct and maintain the country’s roads, it must be noted that quality should be addressed not only from the perspective of building roads but accountability as well.”

According to Minister Makana among the three top priorities of the government of South Sudan, road infrastructure is critical for economic growth of the new country.

“Despite earlier delays, the SSRA is a reality. The SSRA will revamp roads construction and maintenance, spurring the badly needed development,” he said.

The South Sudan Road Authority faces financial constraints to live up to its objectives. The Minister stated that 1.5 million South Sudanese pounds will be made available, which will help expedite establishment of the authority, adding that “more money shall be allocated in the next fiscal year budget.”

Minister Makana appealed to development partners; United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to support Africa’s youngest country financially so that it can move from gravel/murram roads to tarmac/paved roads. “We still need institutional capacity building”, he added.

The Minister said work on developing and strengthening the quality of infrastructure in South Sudan has already begun through the support of the USAID funded Juba-Nimule Road which is the new nations first major paved road.

Throughout the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement which ended Africa’s civil war in 2005 between Islamic dominated North Sudan and mainly Christian South Sudan, the US Government through USAID have supported various infrastructure projects in South Sudan.

Peter Natiello, Deputy Mission Director for USAID in South Sudan, at the inaugural ceremony said “today is indeed an important day that marks the realization of one of the key goals of the South Sudan-USAID infrastructure capacity building partnership that commenced over three years ago.”

He noted that the “lack of infrastructure, and particularly roads, is one of the greatest challenges faced by the new nation. It impacts almost every aspect of South Sudan’s development including security, health, education, trade, agriculture and economic opportunities.”

Natiello revealed that upon the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, “USAID supported the construction of 1500 kilometers of emergency access roads throughout southern Sudan to enable critical food and relief supplies to reach people in need.”

He further highlighted that USAID had “supported the construction of 262 kilometers of roads in Western Equatoria.”

“USAID feels so optimistic today, because your gathering shows this new nation’s commitment to “getting it right” by establishing this critical institution to meet South Sudan’s road maintenance needs,” said Natiello amid applause from officials who attended the landmark ceremony.

According to the USAID senior official over the past 6 years, USAID has provided nearly $20 million of assistance to build capacity in the transport sector for public and private sector managers and implementers.

He also pointed that through the USAID-funded Sudan Infrastructure Services Project (SISP) through its implementation Partner, the US-based Louis Berger Group, has prepared for the establishment of this roads authority, constructed the South Sudan Roads Authority Office complex, trained hundreds of Ministry of Transport staff, trained 30 local maintenance contractors, provided technical assistance to develop policies and procedures, funded numerous workshops to promote policy awareness, and organised regional study tours for ministry staff to learn first-hand how efficient and effective transport institutions function.

Finally, on the issue of future assistance he culminated his keynote speech by acknowledging that USAID is aware that “the work is not done and USAID is therefore committed to continue to provide support in the form of technical assistance and training to help the Roads Authority achieve its intended goals.”

Following his oath of office, Mr. Monyluak Alor Kuol, chairman of the 9-member board, delivered a short speech of appreciation to the Minister of Transport and Roads for the trust vested in himself and the Board. Mr. Monyluak promised to serve to the best of his ability saying “we are all (here) in the spirit of cooperation and we appreciate our colleagues in the ministry for having reached this historic day.”

The board members were appointed by ministerial order bestowed upon him under chapter III article 9 of the South Sudan Roads Authority provisional Order 2011.

The board shall serve for a period three years effective as from 1st June 2011 as provided for in chapter III article 9 section (2) and (3) of the South Sudan Roads Authority Provisional Order 2011.

The members of the newly inaugurated Board of Directors of the South Sudan Roads Authority apart from the chair, include Engineer Jacob Marial Maker, Ambassador Kuol Alor Kuol, Mr. Aggrey Tisa Sabuni, Ms Elizabeth Manoah Majok, Ambassador Majok Guadong, Engineer Jermalili Roman Jermalili, Mr Simon Akuei Deng and Mr Hillary Francis Otwari.

(ST)