Africa-Press – South-Sudan. A section of residents in Juba have expressed disappointment over the postponement of the official celebration of the 11th anniversary of Independence Day.
Last Friday, the Government Spokesperson, Michael Makuei, revealed that the country once again skipped a colourful celebration of Independence Day due to a cash shortage. The news confirmed a cancellation of the celebration, making it the eighth low-key commemoration come July 9.
Paulino Lukudu, one of the lawmakers in the Central Equatoria State legislative assembly, said celebrating South Sudan’s independence means more than the festivities that headline the event.
“The independence is a very important national initiative that reflects the history of the people of South Sudan through the years of struggle, from the colonisation before the Angelo–Egyptians, to the regime of Arabs and finally to our independence,” Lukudu said.
He added “The government has to think twice about how important the celebration will be to the people.” This is the only platform that will bring the people and government together, where they will hear the voices and plans of the government. “
“It would demonstrate that the government values the people’s demands and aspirations when it commemorates the country’s independence,” Lukudu stressed.
Lukudu said 98.83 per cent of the people voted for independence, and hence, the people would like to see progress in terms of governance for the whole year.
Another youth, nicknamed Erick to hide his identity, also expressed dissatisfaction.
“I am so full of disappointment that every year when we think of celebrating our independence something happens, I am just not happy.”
For Erick, such celebrations bring people across tribes together, and they forget their differences to embrace peace.
However, James Wani agreed with the government, saying the reasons for the move were justified because of the current economic hitches.
“I will celebrate Independence Day personally because we did not obtain our independence easily, but there are currently no resources.” If had resources, we would celebrate as a nation, but for now, it will be done at home,” Wani said.
“We want to celebrate the day as South Sudanese because it is a way for people to get to know one another and it would bring peace among us South Sudanese,” he said.
Speaking after the Council of Ministers’ meeting last week, Information Minister, Michael Makuei, told reporters that the government had other pressing issues that required funds, making it unnecessary to spend in the celebration.
“The cabinet found that there is a need for us to celebrate but the celebration will be of a different type than the normal celebration because there are some issues at hand that we need to address,’’ he said.
“And making that public and big celebration means a lot of expenses and at present, we have no funds,” Makuei said.
He added that the Council of Ministers had decided to use the limited available resources to organise the graduation of the necessary unified forces who have spent nearly two years in cantonments or training sites across the country.
However, Makuei said the cabinet agreed to have a limited celebration that would involve a presidential address to the nation.
“So the cabinet decided that the celebration this year will be limited to the president, whereby he will address the nation on the evening of July 8.” He added that “all of the states and administrative areas are authorised to celebrate at their local levels.’’
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