New Wau governor returns to state after taking oath of office
June 30, 2016 (WAU) – The newly appointed governor of the newly created Wau state, Andrea Mayar Achor, has returned to the state after taking oath of office on Wednesday in the national capital, Juba.
Governor Achor who took oath of office before President Kiir in Juba told Sudan Tribune upon arrival back to Wau town, the administrative headquarters of the new state, that his immediate plan would be to facilitate and help the investigation committee appointed by the national government to find the facts behind the recent violent clashes in Wau in which several lives have been lost.
“I have arrived safely. I am now in Wau,” said Achor when reached on Thursday.
He did not say when the government appointed investigation committee would go to the state but said the committee would do its best to establish the facts behind the deadly armed confrontation.
“I went to the president and talked about many things. Wau needs many things but we have only two things that need to be addressed, the issue of security, hunger and the issue of treatment which does not need tomorrow or next tomorrow. But the issue of food, we have secured 2,000 bags of rice and plastic sheets for those who totally lost their properties. We will distribute for them to stay in until the situation is finally settled,” said Achor.
He further narrated that the president has directed the minister in his office to address the issue of humanitarian situation in Wau.
Achor also said the agriculture banks has also contributed 5,000 tons of maize floor which was going to Rumbek but now had been redirected to Wau.
“I have also yesterday reached to Dr. Riek Gai, the head of the investigation committee which is coming to Wau today [Thursday] that I need medicines. Wau does not have medicines and in such a situation if a human being is hunger, the hunger is moving with a lot of diseases, the diseases which was unable to affect you will, affect you,” he said.
Achor said the national minister of health has promised him to send emergency doctors to Wau to help the humanitarian situation in the state until the situation is addressed.
“All the ministers are ready to help us but the problem is transport, if the road was good, the state would have found money to hire vehicles to transport things to Wau but I have talked to many people including general Paul Malong Awan to help us in transporting these helps to Wau,” said Achor.
Several officials and observers have expressed mixed reactions, with government critics questioning the credibility of the government appointed committee, citing the work of the previous committee whose works were not made public.
Armed clashes in Wau town, northwest of Juba, are the latest flare-up in a nation which was mired in conflict for more than two years until a peace deal was reached between President Salva Kiir and rebel leader Riek Machar, now first vice president.
The peace deal was signed last year but took many months to implement. Machar returned to Juba in April, but nothing has been moving.
The latest fighting was between forces of the ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) and armed groups, according to a statement by the United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, which was issued to condemn the clashes and to call for talks.
The secretary-general “urges all parties to agree to dialogue to resolve their political disputes.”
It was not clear who the armed groups were. There was no comment from the government to name the groups.
(ST)