Africa-Press – South-Sudan. South Sudan adopted a raft of resolutions to implement the LAPSSET corridor project to accelerate the country’s infrastructure development.
The declaration was made by Minister of Transport Madut Biar during the conclusion of the LAPSSET ministerial meeting in Juba. It was attended by ministers and senior officials from Kenya, Ethiopia, and South Sudan.
The ministers adopted the Juba commitments with 11 resolutions, which call on member states of LAPSSET to participate in corridor projects in their national development plans and develop a 10-year strategic plan for their implementation.
“To promote broad ownership of LAPSSET Corridor projects by stakeholders and the citizens of the footprint countries and encourage the relevant government authorities to incorporate the key aspects of the Corridor activities in their respective national development plans,” the resolution stated.
Also, the members committed to operationalizing the Steering Committee and Technical Committee to ensure coordinated implementation in the three countries.
They recognised the 16 priority LAPSSET projects identified by South Sudan and urged private investors and development partners to channel resources and technical support towards fast-tracking the implementation.
The LAPSSET Business Council was also called upon to mobilise resources and investments for the accelerated growth of key corridor components.
In the resolutions passed, the LAPSSET member states called for the urgent constitution and operationalization of the Terms of Reference (TOR) for the LAPPSET Steering Committee and those of the LAPPSET Technical Committee, which were approved by the 2nd LAPSSET Ministerial Council meeting in Addis Ababa in June 2021 by nominating delegates and experts to these committees.
The resolution demands the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD Agency), the African Development Bank (AfDB), and the United Nations Economic Commision for Africa (ECA) to each support the Steering Committee with the operationalization of its work and nominate one expert to the Steering Committee and two experts to the Technical Committee.
The resolution further called for the LAPSSET projects and institutions to establish a well-defined framework to guide the operations and activities of the LAPSSET Corridor based on lessons learned from similar transport corridors in other parts of Africa.
The resolutionallows the sale and promotion of the LAPSSET Corridor in the East African region, other regions of Africa, and other parts of the world, including engagements with media houses, development partners, private sector leaders, and other stakeholders to publicise the activities of the corridor.
Last week, Biar acknowledged that South Sudan had fallen behind schedule for the implementation, but not intentionally.
Source: The City Review
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