By Moses Okwera – Torit
The deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs And International Cooperation is reassuring peaceful coexistence to the population of Magwi County.
Deng Dau Deng in his visit to Magwi County this week, he told Magwi population that cattle keepers will be driven back to their original places as per the order of President Salva Kiir.
He says the government together with UN agencies are building dykes in Jonglei to ensure there is dry land for the cattle keepers.
Dau calls on the cattle keepers to obey President Kiir’s order by returning to Jonglei State adding that further negotiations with the headers will no longer be accepted.
While, Eastern Equatoria State Governor Louis Lobong Lojore calls upon the UN and other implementing partners to empower government institutions to be able to take security of citizens.
“The lasting solutions to this problem, is to empower the government agency to take charge of the security of the people and their properties. Build the capacity of the government to take charge of the security. But our development partners and UN Agencies tend to build on and support civil societies rather than the government institutions. As a result, the communities become so much powerful than the security organs and those who are well armed tend to loot the properties of the weak. Really if we want a lasting peace in South Sudan, we need to build the capacity of the government so as to prevent all these things”, he clarifies.
Lobong suggests enactment of laws that will regulate the movement of cattle within the country.
“Members of the parliament, national parliament, we need to come up with a law that guide the movement of cattle, the reasons why these people are moving like that because there is no law guiding it, even we at the state government, it is very difficult to chase them or to do anything because we do not have a law”, he proposes.
The officials made the remarks during the visit of Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and UN delegates to Magwi County.
Last week the Pastoralist Union in South Sudan called on the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries to introduce a bill that will regulate the movement of pastoralists in the country.
In February this year, lives were lost and others displaced in Magwi following a conflict that ensued between Magwi community and cattle keepers from Jonglei State.