W. Bahr el Ghazal governor forms 15-member body in Wau
February 2, 2013 (JUBA) – The governor of South Sudan’s Western Bahr el Ghazal state, Rizik Zachariah Hassan, has issued an executive order for the establishment of a 15-member body in the capital, Wau.
The order, according to governor, is in line with the Local Government Act, 2009.
Derek Alfred Uya, the state information minister told Sudan Tribune that the newly-created body in Wau town municipality would be responsible for making laws for administrative activities, including jurisdiction of the council.
In October last year, the newly appointed town mayor and his deputy could not work in the absence of a council. In addition, the Balanda community opposed a decision by the state council of ministers to transfer Wau County headquarters to Bagari, about 12 miles south-west of Wau town.
An estimated 20 protestors were killed in demonstrations staged on 8, 9 and 18 December to protest against the re-location of the Wau county headquarters, according to government figures. Other sources, however, claimed the number of those killed could have been higher.
Further violence in Farajallah village, located in the Bagari district, 48 miles from Wau town, claimed the lives of 26 innocent people, all members of Dinka ethnic group from the three different states of the greater Bahr el Ghazal region.
Although the governor has instituted investigations into the matter, it also vowed to compensate traders who lost properties during the violent protests in the state, in which they reportedly lost goods worth millions of South Sudanese Pounds (SSP).
(ST)