 party, Dr. James Wani Igga, has attributed South Sudan’s poor infrastructure and cultural setbacks to the country’s prolonged conflict.){kind=link}
Chuol Jany|CRN News – Former Vice President and current Secretary General of the ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) party, Dr. James Wani Igga, has attributed South Sudan’s poor infrastructure and cultural setbacks to the country’s prolonged conflict.
Speaking during the Pojulu cultural festival held over the weekend, Dr. Igga lamented the inability of communities to celebrate their heritage and festivals in their counties and payams, due to insecurity and displacement caused by ongoing violence.
“If there were a durable peace, our people would celebrate their cultural festivals freely in their villages,” he said. “But as long as war continues, don’t expect development.”
Dr. Igga stressed that peace is the cornerstone for progress, warning that development projects—particularly road construction—will remain stalled if violence persists.
“We have to make peace—it’s very important. Let us talk to our children in the bush and convince them to come home. Once the war ends, we can build the Juba-Kaya road with tarmac as a reward to communities that participated in the liberation struggle,” he told the crowd.
The Juba-Kaya road, named after national liberator Aggrey Jaden, remains incomplete. According to Dr. Igga, insecurity along the route has discouraged engineers from proceeding with construction due to fear of ambushes, forcing the government to suspend the project.
Highlighting the historical contributions of all South Sudanese during the liberation war, Dr. Igga emphasized that every citizen has the right to celebrate their culture freely and safely.
“Each of us played a role in the fight for independence. We must now protect our identity and pass it on to the next generation,” he said.
He encouraged communities to teach their children indigenous languages and cultural practices, adding that local languages should be incorporated into the national school curriculum.
Dr. Igga’s remarks reflect the growing frustration among political leaders and citizens alike over the slow pace of peace implementation and the dire consequences of continued instability on cultural preservation and national development.