The process of repatriating Southerners from the North destined to Lakes State will take more time than expected.
This was revealed on Tuesday by Lakes State Director of Southern Sudan Relief and Rehabilitation Commission (SSRRC), Philip Kot Job.Speaking to Good News Radio at his Rumbek office, Mr. Kot said that there are more Southerners awaiting repatriation from the North than those who have arrived in the State.
He revealed that out of the expected thirty thousand returnees to Lakes State, so far some five thousand individuals have come.
Mr. Kot said that the Southerners awaiting repatriation from Khartoum have been left in the open having traveled from other Northern towns, laying the blame on the Government of South Sudan which he said assumed the full responsibility of repatriating Southerners from the North.
He also revealed that the transport companies involved in the repatriation exercise have received partial payment and that they are unwilling to continue with the repatriation exercise until they receive full payment.
Mr. Kot lamented that the entire repatriation exercise is behind schedule, stating that if the original plan to repatriate the Southerners in phases beginning November 2010 would have been followed, the entire program would have been completed by now.
He also expressed fear that it may not be possible to repatriate all the remaining Southerners to Lakes State during this year, explaining that the imminent rainy season is going to render transport by road impossible.