Africa-Press – Cape verde. The planned clearing of rivers was stopped by President Salva Kiir in July last year until a proper environment impact assessment is done.
The government of Unity State said it will go on with the planned clearing of the Naam River while a cloud of circles hovers above the clouds in the capital, Juba, over the environmental and social impact assessments report.
Early this week, at least four excavators arrived in the state, ready for the job.
Back in Juba, the line ministries of environment and forestry and irrigation have kept their cards close to their chests even as it emerges that the assessment report is yet to be done as directed by President Salva Kiir late last year.
Last March, while opening the first session of the parliamentary body, President Kiir directed the Ministry of Finance and Planning to provide funds to conduct the assessment on the Naam River.
“In order for the Ministry of Environment and Forestry to deliver on its mandate, I am directing the Ministry of Finance and Planning to avail funds for the conduct of feasibility studies for environmental and social impact assessments on the Naam River,” Kiir said.
The planned dredging of the river has met fierce resistance from a section of environmentalists who are cautioning the government to halt the exercise.
The opposition that was spearheaded by Juba University Vice Chancellor Proof John Akec, even forced the government, last year, to suspend any plan to clear or dredge the river until an environmental assessment was done.
However, sources within the Ministry of Water and Environment told City Review that the delay by the Ministry of Finance in releasing the money dragged out the exercise.
On Friday, officials from the Ministry of Environment were in pain to explain where the rain started beating them with those on the ground in Unity State, saying that they will go on with the exercise.
But while over five excavators have already arrived at the site, the question that the government has been dodging to give a convincing answer to is who is behind the exercise set to gobble millions of pounds.
“I cannot respond on whether I am aware (of the clearing of the Naam River) or not,” Gattiek Wichar, the Press Secretary in the office of the Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation, told City Review.
David Gai, the Unity State Minister of Information insists the project is an initiative of the government of South Sudan.
“This project is fully done by the government of South Sudan,”
“We are soon going to launch the clearing of the Naam River. As of now, we are in preparation mode,” Gai said.
He also revealed that the state authorities are in sync with the national Ministry of Water and Irrigation with regard to the clearing of the Naam River.
Unity Governor Joseph Manytuil said the first phase of clearing the river will kick off early next week.
“The state government will launch the clearing of the Naam River in three days,” Manytuil said during the reception of the machines on Wednesday.
The first phase will run from Yoahnyang River to Lake No, with the second phase running from Yoahnyang (Bentiu) to Bhar el Ghazal.
Manytuil expressed hope that the Naam River clearance will reduce the flood and rescue people from the flood and its effects.
“The clearing of our rivers will reduce and mitigate the flood drastically,” he said.
Meanwhile, an official from the Ministry of Environment told City Review that the committee tasked and directed by the president to do the assessment was still following up to get the funds to go and do the assessment.
“The ministry has a technical team that is supposed to go to the ground to ensure that the process is done according to the environmental management plan because the ministry of the environment is supposed to take a lead in that,” our source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said.
However, the source revealed that the government is aware of the machines and the Ministry of the Environment is running up and down to get the funds to do the assessment.
“The ministry is already organizing that assessment. What is remaining are finances for those technical staff to go to the ground because it was approved by the council of ministers but subject to environmental monitoring and management,” the source said.
Source: The City Review South Sudan
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