Africa-Press – South-Sudan. An Egyptian embassy official in Juba has said that President Salva Kiir Mayardit’s office has full knowledge over the process to dredge the River Nile tributaries and had directed the importation of the machines from Egypt via the republic of Sudan.
This is in contrary to a claim by President Kiir’s Press Secretary Ateny Wek Ateny who said that the government hadn’t approved the dredging process of Naam River in Unity State and that the presidency is not informed about the importation of dredging machines which are already in Bentiu.
“The government has not given any approval yet on clearing Nile water or clearing the plants that are inside the Nile. We have not yet been told about those machines completely,” Eye Radio quoted Ateny Tuesday in Juba as saying.
But speaking to Sudans Post on condition of anonymity, an Egyptian embassy member in Juba said the presidency is well informed and that the coordination for the importation of the dredging machines is mostly done between the presidencies of Egypt and South Sudan with water ministries of both countries working as executing agencies.
“This process is done on the level of the presidency in both Egypt and South Sudan and the presidency here in Juba is well informed. The coordination of bringing in the dredging machines from Egypt via Sudan was being done between the two presidencies of South Sudan and Egypt,” the official said.
The importation of dredging machines has caused public uproar and contradiction among senior government officials.
The country’s minister of environment and forestry Josephine Napwon ordered the immediate suspension of the dredging project until an environmental risk assessment process is done.
Speaking to reporters at her ministry’s premise in Juba on Wednesday afternoon, Napwon ordered the suspension of the project until further notice and said any attempt to dredge rivers in the world’s youngest country without environmental risk assessment is illegal.
“I don’t think they will start the project without the environmental assessment. Therefore, since the above process has not commenced, any dredging of the rivers is illegal,” Napwon said.
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