South Sudan’s Kiir accuses Khartoum of stopping cross-border trade

By Ngor Arol Garang

September 8, 2011 (JUBA) – The president of newly independent South Sudan Salva Kiir Mayardit on Friday accused the Sudanese government of stopping cross-border trade with his country, resulting in increased prices of basic commodities.

The meeting deliberated on the launching of a long-term regional project to end drought emergencies, as over 13 million of citizens predominantly Somalis as well as citizens from northern part of Kenya are starving due to drought.

South Sudan joined the international community after becoming an independent nation on July 9, following a referendum vote that came out in favour of separation from the Arab-Muslim dominated north.

The South Sudanese president said today marked two months since the since his country’s independence which is facing many challenges including high food prices.

“As a new nation, we are also affected by the current food prices because there is stoppage of cross- border trade by the government of Sudan. This has affected four of our states”, Kiir told the high level regional summit.

Earlier this year prices of food in South Sudan skyrocketed after the North stopped flow of cargo through river and road transport. It came at the height of tensions between North and South Sudan.

Kiir informed the summit that the new country continues to face alot of challenges including integration of returnees who fled their ancestral lands during 21 years of civil war with north Sudan, in which more than 2 million people were reported to have died and more than 4 million displaced.

“We continue to face challenges in integrating the returnees who have returned to their ancestral villages in the south from the north. These challenges are compounded by the eruption of recent fighting in Blue Nile and South Kordofan States. Refugees have fled to into South Sudan. These people are now fully dependent on food assistance”, a copy of his speech obtained by Sudan Tribune said.

EAST AFRICAN DROUGHT

Many observers say majority of people affected by the East African drought are pastoralists who cross arid lands with their livestock, looking for pasture and water. Other says issues of livestock health and marketing, the sharing of water resources and migration had to be addressed regionally and would take time to bear fruits.

Experts say pastoralists should be given support to reduce their vulnerability to the increasingly frequent droughts associated with climate change, for example by taking prompt action to reduce livestock numbers when drought is forecast.

The leader of the former rebel movement turned ruling political party, however, said despite a lot competing challenges, his government remains committed to creating alternative reliable sources for importation of food and other basic commodities rather than depending on north Sudan and will devote adequate resources for rehabilitation of agriculture, fisheries and forestry sectors in order to bridge the food shortage and enhance food security.

Horn of Africa countries are facing one of the worst natural disasters for the last three years and this has caused a major food crisis that has escalated into a famine in some parts of the region.

“This crisis is not about loss of crops and livestock alone. It is about more than that. It is about the loss of lives. It is about the loss of habitat and ecology. It is about the loss of serenity and culture. And most of all, it is about the impact of this crisis on the security which is deeply alarming. I mean security in the larges of the term, that to say, food security, physical security, national security and health security”, explained president Kiir.

He thanked President Mwai Kibaki of Kenya for organising the regional summit and affirmed South Sudan’s pledge to contribute $1 million to the cause, which he said was “an important symbolic gesture that underscore our commitment to the region”.

The United Nations say Somalia is at the epicenter of the hunger crisis, with the UN saying 750,000 people face death due to starvation. The October rains are predicted to be good in southern Somalia, but drought conditions don’t look set to improve until the main harvest in August 2012.

“Recovery will require more than one good rainy season,” said Catherine Bragg, the United Nations assistant secretary general for humanitarian affairs.

Bragg said the UN has raised $1.5 billion to provide lifesaving assistance this year, with $500 million raised in the last two months, but that more money is urgently needed.

“We still need almost $1 billion more this year alone as populations in need continue to grow and as we race against time to prevent further deaths,” said Bragg.

(ST)