By Julius N. Uma
April 16, 2012 (KUAJOK) - The governor of South Sudan’s Warrap state has officially directed the public to embark on a massive mobilisation to counter escalating insecurity, food and economic crises in the newly independent nation.
- Warrap State governor Nyandeng Malek addresses SPLM members at the state secretariat in Kuajok, April 14, 2012 (Uma Julius/ST)
Nyandeng Malek made these remarks on Saturday while briefing members of South Sudan’s ruling party on the resolutions of the party’s second National Liberation Council (NLC) meeting held in Juba, the South Sudan capital last month.
“Today as you know, we have challenges that need to be addressed,” Malek said, adding that “Unless we start mobilising and preparing our people now, it may be very difficult to address these challenges.”
The governor specifically cited internal and external insecurity as well as the recent austerity measures as some of the issues that require immediate redress.
South Sudan’s cabinet recently instituted strict austerity measures in the wake of the country’s shut down of oil production in January over a dispute with neighbouring Sudan over how much the nine-month-old country should pay in oil transit fees. Oil revenue previously accounted for 98% of South Sudan’s budget.
The governor, in an interview with Sudan Tribune, also denounced recent calls by the international community, including the United Nations and African Union, demanding the immediate withdrawal of South Sudan’s army (SPLA) from the oil-rich Heglig region.
The disputed area has been held by the SPLA for almost a week although unconfirmed reports say the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) have since reclaimed part of the area.
Heglig was placed outside of Abyei - another disputed area - in 2009 by an tribunal in The Hague and is internationally recognised as being part of Sudan’s South Kordofan State.
Much of the Abyei region has been occupied by SAF since May last year after a referendum due for January 2011 did not take place. Just as the SPLA claim there assault on Heglig was a response a SAF attack on Unity State, SAF say they took control of Abyei last year after one of their convoys was attacked heading north out of the area.
“When Sudan army occupied Abyei and displaced our people, the international community remained silent. Why are they now putting pressure on our forces who have the mandate to control South Sudan’s territory?” the Warrap State governor asked.
On Saturday, the youth in Warrap openly declared their intentions to embark on a voluntary mobilisation recruitment and sensitisation program as part of efforts to defend the country’s territorial integrity.
Morris Mabior, the initiative coordinator for the voluntary youth mobilisation, recruitment and sensitisation program said the one-month initiative will target all the six counties in the state. He hoped that all ‘Gelweng’ (cattle keepers) will join hands and work in collaboration with the state leadership.
Similar mobilisation campaigns to recruit young men provide supplies to the SPLA have been announced in all of South Sudan’s states that border Sudan. North of the border Khartoum has initiated its own campaign recruiting into SAF and its main paramilitary, the Popular Defence Forces (PDF), which played a large part in the fighting along the borders of the last Sudanese civil war (1983-2005).
As part of the youth drive in Warrap, 20 representatives from the South Sudan’s security forces from within the state, will make frequent trips to the counties to mobilise people in rural areas.
Sudan Tribune on Sunday witnessed two trucks full of youth in Warrap State’s Gogrial West County, apparently heading to Northern Bahr el Ghazal State, which borders Sudan’s western Darfur region. It is unclear, whether the trucks were part of the ongoing youth mobilisation campaign.
South Sudan youth, according to the 2008 housing and population census, account for nearly 70 percent of the entire population.
Governor Malek also advocated for the establishment of a media, women and youth committee, which she identified as vital tools for effective mobilisation.
“Our media is not well developed, yet they play effective roles in society today. We need to strengthen our media so that the masses are informed. In the same way, the women and youth have to be empowered if they are to help in nation building,” she emphasised.
(ST)
ST - Warrap youth start massive recruitment in defense of South Sudan
Newer articles:
- Sudanese opposition calls on South Sudan to withdraw from Heglig - Sudan Tribune - 17/04/2012 10:37
- Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town Sends Message to the Archbishop of Sudan On ... - AllAfrica.com - 17/04/2012 10:10
- Sudanese Parliament Calls South Sudan an 'Enemy' - Voice of America (blog) - 17/04/2012 09:58
- South Sudan-Sudan clashes spreading, officials say - BusinessWeek - 17/04/2012 06:00
- Anyuak to crown new King next week in Pochalla, Jonglei - Sudan Tribune - 17/04/2012 04:49
Older news items
- South Sudan: Blasts at UN Site - New York Times - 17/04/2012 02:41
- Sudan intensifies bombing of disputed town - FederalNewsRadio.com - 17/04/2012 00:32
- Sudan intensifies bombing of disputed town - WNEM Saginaw - 17/04/2012 00:00
- UPDATE 3-Sudan parliament calls South an enemy - Chicago Tribune - 16/04/2012 23:13
- Syria; North Korea; Sudan/South Sudan; World Bank; and more - UN Dispatch - 16/04/2012 23:00
Latest news items (all categories):
- UNDP and the Office of the Vice President Launches the Women and Youth Leadership Program in South Sudan - 14/02/2025 11:37
- The Grave Blunders And The Paradoxical Ways In Leadership Sector - 14/02/2025 11:32
- ADF approves $153.66 million for Uganda-South Sudan electricity interconnection project - 13/02/2025 20:48
- Rwandan peacekeepers in South Sudan get UN service medals for their service - 13/02/2025 20:44
- Afreximbank seeks to claw back US$657mn debt from South Sudan - 13/02/2025 20:30
See also (all categories):
Random articles (all categories):
- South Africa may leave ICC over Bashir arrest row - 25/06/2015 04:15
- South Sudan Government Reshuffle Emboldens Rights Abusers - 15/04/2021 00:12
- Israeli court clears deporting South Sudan migrants - swissinfo.ch - 07/06/2012 11:49
- South Sudan’s first female pilot takes the captain’s seat at Delta Air Lines - 06/02/2018 09:22
- Ban urges South Sudan leaders to ‘give up war’ and forge a political agreement - 13/07/2015 14:40
Popular articles:
- Who is the darkest person in the world, according to Guinness World Record? - 25/10/2022 02:34 - Read 72164 times
- No oil in troubled waters - 25/03/2014 15:02 - Read 22391 times
- School exam results in South Sudan show decline - 01/04/2012 17:58 - Read 21608 times
- Top 10 weakest currency exchange rates in Africa in 2023 - 19/07/2023 00:24 - Read 19450 times
- NDSU student from South Sudan receives scholarship - In-Forum - 29/09/2012 01:44 - Read 19252 times