Day: November 5, 2021

PARIS —

The coup in Sudan puts into doubt the process that would have seen France cancel some $5 billion debt it was owed by the African country, France’s foreign ministry said on Friday, the latest power to pressure military leaders who seized power.

France, Sudan’s second-largest creditor, has been a main actor in backing the interim authorities after former President Omar al-Bashir was ousted in 2019, but the civilian transition was derailed in October when the military took control.

Speaking to reporters in a daily briefing on Friday, Foreign ministry spokeswoman Anne-Claire Legendre said Paris had been an “unwavering” partner for Sudan and that the general debt cancellation program as part of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative was agreed at a conference in Paris in May.

“A Paris Club agreement was reached on July 15, each creditor now having to sign a bilateral agreement with Sudan,” Legendre told reporters, responding to a question on whether Paris was reviewing its debt cancellation promise.

“It is clear that the military coup of October 25 calls into question this process.”

Sudan owes nearly $60 billion, 40% of which — or $23.5 billion — is held by the Paris Club.

Under the July agreement, the Paris Club decided to cancel $14.1 billion of that debt and reschedule the rest.

At that conference President Emmanuel Macron had vowed to cancel about $5 billion France is owed by Khartoum, provided a loan to clear Sudan’s arrears to the International Monetary Fund and organized a side event promoting investment into the country.

In a sign the junta is tightening its control, the military dissolved the boards of all state companies and national agricultural projects, state TV said on Friday.

Source: Voice of America

The governor of Lakes State on Tuesday issued a gubernatorial order relieving and retiring the long-serving Paramount chief of Rumbek East County and two other executive chiefs.

Governor Gen. Rin Tueny Mabor Deng summarily fired Paramount chief Sultan Majak Agok Machol of the Thuyic community and two other executive chiefs, Makur Manyoc Achany and Mabor Mangek from the Maleng-agok Payam of Rumbek East County.

According to gubernatorial order read on the state-owned radio station FM 98.0, Governor Tueny fired the president of the traditional court of Maleng-agok Payam of Rumbek East County, Sultan Agok, under article 99 (2) (a)citing lack of cooperation between the chiefs and county authorities and their negative role in mitigating communal conflicts among others.

The Governor’s order also said elections will be held on 16 November to fill the vacant positions and that the retired chiefs will not be allowed to contest.

Sultan Agok, when contacted by Radio Tamazuj, however, said that it was the commissioner of Rumbek East County Mapour Malek, who fired him and his colleagues.

“The truth is that the order came from the commissioner and the local government and not from the governor. I also do not know why he (commissioner) did because I was not called and or consulted. I was not given a reason.” Sultan Agok said. “The Governor has no involvement in the issue but since the order has come out, I will remain as a normal citizen.”

He added that he was in Cueibet County where Governor Tueny assigned him to a special court to hear cases.

The relieved paramount chief of Thuyic said he was appointed to serve in the community as an executive chief in 1970 before he became the Paramount chief of the Thuyic community after they spilt from the Athoi community under the late Paramount chief, Aparer Chut Dhuol in 2005.

The Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO) coordinator in Lakes State, Daniel Laat Kon, said firing chiefs is not a solution to ending inter-communal violence and that the chiefs should have instead been tasked to reconcile their people to make sure they live in harmony.

“I heard about the firing of the three chiefs of Maleng-agok Payam including Paramount chief Sultan Majak Agok Machol and other two executive chiefs by the governor over the government radio 98 FM,” Laat said. “The governor issued out orders relieving chiefs and appointing the electoral committee to organize and take care of the elections. The reason is not known but recently there were some rumors of resumption of tension and mobilization between the two communities of Thuyic and Gony.”

According to Laat, the firing of the chiefs has polarized the community with many people condemning the move and that it could led to unrest.

Makur Gomthai, a member of the Maleng-agok Payam community said they were surprised by the order firing the three chiefs.

“The governor of Lakes State did not consult the community,” Gomthai said. “The community was surprised by the gubernatorial decrees relieving the three chiefs and retiring them, and not allowing them to contest during the election that is scheduled to take place on 16 November. This has caused a lot of confusion in the community.”

He added that many people in the Maleng-agok Payam community want the relieved chiefs to contest in the planned elections so that they are defeated democratically instead of being fired.

Source: Radio Tamazuj

Traders in Yei Town of Yei River County in Central Equatoria State are counting losses after torrential rains coupled with a raging storm destroyed buildings and blew off the roofs of more than ten shops on Thursday afternoon.

The town’s residents said the heavy rain which lasted for more than three hours was accompanied by high winds and thunderstorms which brought down trees and plucked iron sheets off buildings.

Alex Taban, a Dar-el-salam market trader, told Radio Tamazuj that the affected buildings included some permanent and semi-permanent shops on Dar-el-salam Street, Bank of South Sudan Street, and Jamia and Sobe streets in the Central Business District of Yei town.

Counting bags of soaked maize and cassava flour from his food stores, Taban said he lost goods worth over 800,000 SSP to the heavy downpour.

“The heavy rain destroyed very many shops in the market and I can confirm to you that along the Sobe Street, over five permanent shops had their roofs blown off and others temporary structures collapsed along the street of the Central Bank,” Taban said. “Many of us are affected with a lot of losses, more especially us who are dealing in cassava and maize flour. For me, goods worth 800,000 SSP are damaged and I don’t know how to start my business again.”

He appealed to the government and the chamber of commerce to attract investors who can construct a modern and permanent market square in Yei town so that traders can operate in a secure space.

Another trader, Amos Dickson, said the heavy downpour destroyed his small retail shop on Sobe Street.

“The rain was so heavy and I cannot tell how it has affected the whole town but I can tell you that it destroyed many items in my shop and I have never witnessed such rain in Yei town”

Edward Luba, the chairperson of the chamber of commerce in Yei River County, confirmed that the roofs from over ten permanent buildings were blown off and said even though no one was hurt, many losses were incurred.

“For now I can say over ten buildings (roofs) have been blown off, some iron sheets were also blown off and the good thing is that no one was injured,” Luba said. “All the buildings in Yei are very old, some of the buildings were built in 1983 and a town like Yei should not operate under poor and old structures. Because of the conflict, people lack resources and money to construct nice and modern buildings in Yei town.”

Source: Radio Tamazuj

The Eastern Equatoria State health ministry in collaboration with health partners on Thursday launched the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccination campaign in Torit town.

The director-general in the state health ministry, Dr. Etin Concord Erib, said the Covid-19 vaccination campaign will cover the entire state.

Early this week, the state received 574 vials of the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine to cover Torit, Lafon, Ikotos, and Nimule while Kapoeta is yet to receive vial directly from the national health ministry in juba.

Speaking during the launch at Torit State Hospital, Dr. Erib said the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is safe and administered in a single dose as authorized by United SatesFood and Drug Authority (FDA)

“Today we are launching a vaccine which is new and this is called J&J. I would like to give some factsheet about this J&J,” Dr. Erib said. “I think these are two people operating this company and the manufacturer is called Jansen Pharmaceuticals from the United States. It was authorized on 27 February 2021 by the Food and Drug Authority.”

He added that frontline workers and the elderly will be the first to take the vaccine and that everyone above 18 years can take it apart from people with some health oddities.

“It is only one shot, which is an advantage. Everybody above 18 years of age can get it except anybody with a severe allergic reaction. The second group is people with fever more than 38 degrees centigrade, they should wait until the fever subsides,” Dr. Erib explained. “The first to obviously be vaccinated are the people in the frontline, the health workers because they are at risk of getting this disease.”

UNICEF’s chief of the field office in Torit, Mikelele Bernard Ofuho, encouraged those who have not taken the vaccine to take it to protect themselves and their families.

“It is the same as AstraZeneca, so many people did not feel the pain with exception of what may be the pain of the needle and the advantage with J&J is that the pain will only be once not like AstraZeneca where you have two jabs. So that is an advantage for all of us,” Ofuho said.

A Torit resident, Cirillo Pasquale Paul, who took the jab said he was confident that it will save his life and that of his family and encouraged the population to go for vaccination.

“I have taken the Covid-19 vaccine and the reason I took is that this virus is very dangerous, I have seen in the mass media the dangers it poses to other developed countries and for us South Sudanese we do not believe in coronavirus but it is real and exists, Paul waned.

Rosina Deiya, another Torit resident who had not taken the vaccine because she was sick says she will not miss out this time around.

“I have not taken because I was sick but I will take it this time because it is not bad and these are things brought to help the population,” Deiya said. “It will help you everywhere you go.”

Source: Radio Tamazuj