Kiir forms ministerial committee for building of South Sudan’s new capital Article Comments (49) Email PrintSave --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
September 7, 2011 (JUBA) – The President of the newly born Republic of South Sudan, Salva Kiir Mayardit, has issued an order forming a ministerial committee to make the necessary preparations for the building of the new capital to be known as ‘Ramciel Union’. President Salva Kiir of Southern Sudan addresses the media at the Presidential Guest House in Juba, Southern Sudan, Thursday, May 26, 2011 (Paul Banks/UNMIS) Last Friday the cabinet resolved to relocate the government’s seat from Juba to the country’s centre in Ramciel in Lakes state following the “protracted stalemate” between the national government and the Central Equatoria state over the jurisdictions of the city. The host Bari community of Juba felt that they would be acculturated by the bigger communities such as the Dinka and the Nuer, coupled with issues of land grabbing. Officials say the uncertainty in the town had made access to land difficult to the national government, the ordinary people as well as the investors which they said had hampered the prospect for development in the area. Ramciel or Ramkiel, which officials say means ‘where rhinos meet’ in the two slightly different Dinka words, lies at the centre of South Sudan and borders a number of states. The area has almost no infrastructure, no towns and only a few seasonal villages. The presidential order number 17 has constituted the ministerial committee for ‘Ramciel Union’ as the national territory for the capital of South Sudan to be chaired by the minister of Housing and Physical Planning, Jemma Nunu Kumba. The membership of the committee include John Luk Jok, minister of Justice, Oyai Deng Ajak, minister for National Security, Costi Manibe Ngai, minister of Finance and Economic Planning, David Deng Athorbei, minister of Electricity and Dams, Gier Chuang Aluong, minister of Roads and Bridges, Alfred Lado Gore, minister of Environment, Garang Ding Akuong, minister of Commerce, Industry and Investment and a representative of Lakes state to be appointed by the governor. The committee shall define and demarcate the borders of Ramciel as the national capital territory which shall fall outside the jurisdiction of Lakes state government. It will also study land use methodology and its management as well as carry out feasibility study with a competent company. The order directs the committee to also initiate construction of public utilities and infrastructure in the new capital. It will also propose a budget for the committee as well as budget for the Mayor of the capital’s territory who will be appointed by the President. The new capital may take tens of billions of US dollars to build and officials have acknowledged that it cannot be possible using only the normal annual budgets of the government. Foreign investors may have to be attracted to build the city through direct investment or on a loan basis. The committee will report their findings to the office of the president within 45 days. (ST) -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "JFD info" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/jfdinfo?hl=en.
