Jenifer James
Africa-Press – South-Sudan. The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, Albino Akol Atak, asked the cabinet to approve $1.8 billion to meet the needs of refugees and returnees who flee the Sudanese conflict.
Addressing the press after the cabinet meeting, the minister for information, Michael Makuei, said his counterpart from the docket of humanitarian affairs had requested about $1.8 billion to cover all the costs for the refugees, returnees, and host communities.
He said the money will also help in the transportation of returnees stranded at the borders to their respective home areas.
According to Makuei, the money will be raised by the government, but the government will have to appeal for support from the international community.
“We will raise it (the money) through so many ways; we will raise it by contribution as South Sudanese as we normally do it. We will also be making an appeal to the international community and to humanitarian organisations to cover part of it.”
“In this period, the South Sudan government received 4,654,56 arrivals from Sudan; out of these people, about 25 percent are returnees, and 15 percent are refugees.”
“I say this is a number that has entered South Sudan; these are people who entered from 21 entry points from northern Bahr al-Ghazal up to the Upper Nile.”
According to Makuei, some of these people coming from Sudan are armed, and they are being disarmed at the borders and registered as refugees.
“Those who are South Sudanese are registered and taken to their respective areas or made to stay until they are transported.”
“It is realised that the refugees did not only come from Sudan; there are other refugees who returned from Gambella. There are more than 200 people in the Pibor administrative area, and those who have come from there are about 101,636 returnees,” Makuei added.
In May last year, Akol said the humanitarian situation at the borders was still dire despite the expenditure of $1 million previously released by the government.
Albino revealed that out of the $5 million approved by the cabinet, they had received $1 million, which he said was used for the evacuation of the returnees.
“Cabinet has approved $1 million; we have tried to facilitate the people, but unfortunately, there are people who are suffering and in need of humanitarian aid,” he said.
In August, the cabinet directed the minister of finance to release funds to the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs to settle the refugees and returnees from Sudan.
According to Makuei, the minister has requested that the cabinet approves the payments of the funds, which they had approved earlier.
“The balance was from the $5.3 million that had been approved but not paid in full. He said the minister had only received $2 million and was in dire need of the balance to accomplish other exercises.
Source: The City Review South Sudan
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