NBI boosts South Sudan’s water sector, Juba University

June 30, 2015 (JUBA) – The Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) secretariat on Monday handed over computing and other office equipment worth $90,000 to South Sudan’s ministry of electricity, dams, irrigation and water resources as well as the University of Juba.

NBI’s executive director, John Rao Nyaoro handed over the equipment to the undersecretary in the water ministry, Liabwel Yol and the dean of the college of engineering and architecture at the University of Juba, James Bango.

The water sector received a state of the art hybrid power backup system, which utilises solar and generator power, three servers, one photocopier/network printer, one network switch, one Wifi-router and three high speed processing workstations.

“The equipment will benefit water sanitation hygiene information management system department and the decision support system unit,” NBI said in a statement.

“The College of Civil Engineering and Architecture received a Server Rack (42 U), UPS -1.5 KV (Rack type), 30 desktop wireless cards, two Wifi-routers and six air conditioners”, it added.

The equipment was reportedly requested for by the beneficiaries as donated as part of the NBI capacity building program for South Sudan, its latest member since July 2012.

The NBI is a regional intergovernmental partnership launched by the Nile Basin countries in 1999 to manage and develop the shared Nile Basin water resources in a cooperative manner, share substantial socio-economic benefits and promote regional peace and security. Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda are the current members of the NBI, while Eritrea participates as an observer.

(ST).