Africa-Press – South-Sudan. Central Equatoria State Governor Emmanuel Adil Anthony on Monday ordered authorities to urgently regulate artisanal gold mining, citing a surge in unregulated activity and recent deadly violence at mining sites.
Speaking in Juba during the swearing-in ceremony of the new Juba County Commissioner, Samuel Emiliano Wani, Adil said thousands of young people were flocking to informal mining areas, particularly in Wonduruba and other parts of Juba.
“There’s a serious problem with our gold mining areas, especially in southern Juba and parts of the west, inlcuding Wonduruba,” Adil said. “Those people went there in thousands. We need to organize these people and put in place strict measures.”
The governor did not specify who he was referring to, but many people from different states of South Sudan who are not natives of Central Equatoria are currently engaged in mining activities in the Wonduruba area.
Governor Adil said he would establish a committee to assess conditions at mining sites across the state and recommend regulatory measures. The announcement comes after a March 28 attack at the Khor Kaltan site in the Jebel Iraq mining area, where an armed group killed more than 30 South Sudanese youths. State Information Minister Nyarsuk Patrick later said the death toll rose to at least 37.
“It’s unfortunate that we lost over thirty lives,” Adil said, urging the new commissioner and state officials to prioritize restoring order in the affected areas.
Adil also raised concern over the naming of local sites, saying the area known as Khor Kaltan or Jebel Iraq is traditionally called Kulipapa.
“It is called Kulipapa traditionally,” he said. “This is the village which has been renamed.”
Last week, the Central Equatoria government issued a directive banning the unauthorized renaming of towns, villages, rivers and other landmarks across the state.
Deputy Governor Paulino Lukudu Obede said the measure was intended to protect traditional place names from changes by what officials described as “unauthorized nonnative people.”
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