---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: John Ashworth <[email protected]> Date: Wed, 14 Sep 2011 11:03:57 +0300 Subject: [sudan-john-ashworth] Fw: Why South Sudan prefers Ramciel to Juba To: Group <[email protected]>
1. Why South Sudan prefers Ramciel to Juba as its seat of government By MACHEL AMOS in Juba Business Daily Posted Wednesday, September 14 2011 at 00:00 Whether to start building a new capital on a virgin land where no single structure has ever existed or upgrade the poorly planned infrastructure in Juba has been a nagging dilemma in South Sudan. Ramciel, savanna grassland on the west of the River Nile in the country’s Lakes state, would be the new seat of government, replacing Juba, which has been the regional capital for more than 35 years before the country’s independence. The circumstances through which Juba maintained the crown date back to the colonial period, in which it hosted the chief conference in 1947 to decide the fate of Southern Sudan ahead of the disputed Sudanese independence in 1956. Juba automatically became the seat of the High Executive Council for Southern Sudan after the signing of the Addis Ababa Peace Agreement in 1972, ending 17 years of guerrilla fighting that erupted in 1955. Tragic death “Juba started from a small town to being a capital. And so originally it was not planned to be a big city to include a lot of people, may be two to three million,” Prof Cuir Riak, senior development consultant at African Development Consultancy Firm said. It was against this unplanned background that the leadership of the ex-rebel group turned ruling party resolved in 2005, under the chairmanship of the late Dr John Garang, to transfer the capital to Ramciel once it gets hold of the south. Unfortunately, Garang died in a tragic plane crash in 2005, three weeks after taking oath of office as vice president of Sudan and president of the Government of Southern Sudan. His then deputy, Salva Kiir, was the heir apparent. Observers and analysts say that although the transfer of the capital did not die with Garang, the emergence of land disputes between Central Equatoria state and the central government fuelled the bid. “A city capital, among other things should be a place where the national government can spread out its wings freely without being stopped by someone who runs with one piece of a law leaving others hanging,” said Prof Isaiah Abraham. He said the Bari, who own the land in Juba feel that it is being grabbed while city dwellers feel that they are not welcome in the capital. If the city were to remain in Juba, an appropriation Act would be required to take hold of lands leased to citizens in attempts of re-planning; a commission would have to be formed to conduct evaluation for the various plots to be appropriated; special fund would need to be created to compensate the people for their land. “The aggregate of the re-planning and reconstruction costs will be too high if compared to fresh building operations and the period of litigation and court cases from people objecting the appropriation and evaluation of their properties could impair development,” Investment minister Garang Diing said. As prospects of planned urban development set in, and as the population of Juba increased from an estimated 250,000 in 2005 to more than 500,000 as of 2010, the intent to transfer the capital gained gear. “This tension added further impediments to the construction efforts of the government and could continue to hamper its focus on the development in the independence era,” National Security minister Oyai Deng Ajak said. “Furthermore, for the purpose of national security, the government would need a secure area for its installations and development,” he said. “As such, a location would serve a strategic purpose to promote integrated business, industrial development and investment as well as increase security.” So, a little more than a week ago, the government finally decided to relocate the capital to Ramciel. “Therefore, the development of a new city would attract significant investment into Southern Sudanese economy leading to increased growth and improvement of lives for its citizens,” said Mr Ajak. The land is inhabited by the Chiech community of ethnic Dinka (Atuot). Chiech are nomadic pastoralists, unlike the Bari of Juba who are crop farmers. In rainy season, the pastoralists trek to the highlands and in the dry season to ‘toch’ (wet lands along the River Nile) with their cattle. Because of the pastoral nature of the life of Chiech, land ownership is more communal than individual. Consequently, if the community agrees to give up land as is the case, it is expected that land disputes would be minimal. Lakes state government, in which Ramciel lies, said it has given land to the government without conditions. Feasibility study “Juba is highly congested. It would be difficult to restructure it. It would be very costly to have new water system, new power and many other things that are needed for a capital,” Lakes state governor Chol Tong Mayai said. “Our main concern is essentially to relief the contention between those who feel their land is being grabbed and those who feel they are not being welcomed in Juba.” However, a report of a feasibility study conducted in 2006 by Balkan Consultancy concluded that in “the area around Ramciel towards the Nile, the area was swampy and not suitable for proposed development”. “The experience of observation achieved during the E- exploring on the Internet by the means of the satellite, shows that the certain areas located western from the Nile have terrain depression, where the latitude is for few metres below the level of the river basin. That brings the possible conclusion that during the annual period in different climate seasons, these areas might be flooded,” the report said. Accordingly, the new site in Ramciel “does not have sufficient and favourable surface capacity to sustain future development and extension of the capital city.” Moreover, the government believes that moving to the new location “would allow for the creation of a modern city planned for 200 years with absolute flexibility to observe any population growth and technological advancements”. However, the report has been dismissed as false. “Maybe they studied another place but not the Ramciel we are talking about,” says Marik Nanga, Lakes state information minister. The new area proposed by the firm lies across the Nile spanning from Rajaf East (mouth of Kit River) in the south and extends eastwards to Ngangala, KhorIngliz, Longairo. It then extends northwards through Lafon to cover southern grasslands of Jonglei state. To the west it mainly borders the Nile from Rajaf to Mangalla and northwards to Pariak. The city would also have an extended aisle into Lakes state that would broaden deeper into the territories of Ramshiel such as Minkaman, Wunthou and Kalthok. This area is about 19,000 square kilometres and would be curved from the four states of Central Equatoria, Eastern Equatoria, Jonglei and Lakes. An estimated number of 500,000 indigenous population would fall within the premises of this proposed capital, according to a consultant. However, given the centrality of Ramciel and goodwill of the local population, it was chosen as the most ideal location for South Sudan’s capital city. In Ramciel, the government with aid from donors and loans from the Word Bank and International Monetary Fund would partially meet the cost of building government institutions and the infrastructure in the city during the first phase of its construction. The cost is not established yet, but Housing and Physical Infrastructure minister JemmaNunuKmuba earlier hinted that it could be $10 billion. Tired of the mayor Legislators remain divided over the transfer, with some acknowledging that it is partly the taking of the towns to the people as envisioned by Garang while others expressed concerns over cost the move would incur. “This is another way of distributing development. Juba is the most developed and transfer will give a quick way to make better infrastructure in Ramshiel,” David Unyo Demey, a Mabaan (Upper Nile state) area representative said. Lodu Tombe, a representative of Central Equatoria state in the national parliament, posed: “Our priority is not to transfer the city. We are unable to deliver basic services. Why should we waste a lot of money on what is not a priority?” A trader specialising in shoes welcomes the move to relocate the capital city from Juba to Ramciel. “We are tired of the mayor chasing us away. We need a city where we could be able to get land to build our shops,” said the businessman. http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/Why+South+Sudan+prefers+Ramciel+to+Juba+as+government+seat/-/539546/1235708/-/jgo0noz/-/ END1 2. South Sudan relocates its capital from Juba to Ramciel September 3, 2011 (JUBA) – The newly born Republic of South Sudan has finally resolved to relocate its national capital from Juba to Ramciel, in Lakes state of Greater Bahr el Ghazal region following extensive consultations with stakeholders. The decision was reached on Friday in the Council of Ministers meeting chaired by the President Salva Kiir Mayardit. This came as a result of a report presented to the cabinet by an ad hoc committee formed several months ago to look into the issue of the capital. The minister of information and broadcasting and official spokesman of the government, Barnaba Marial Benjamin, after the resolution was passed told the press that the decision was reached in consideration of the current situation in Juba. He said there had been a “protracted stalemate” between the national and state governments over the status of Juba as the capital which has hampered development of the city because both investors and individuals could not find land to invest or build houses on. Another factor he said was the decision taken by the Bari community asking the government to relocate from their land. The transitional constitution, he said, stipulates that Juba or any other location in South Sudan shall be the capital. The ad hoc committee, chaired by the minister of National Security, Oyai Deng Ajak, former minister of Investment, held consultations with the indigenous Bari community in Juba which presented the recommendation to the committee urging that the capital should be relocated from Juba to anywhere else in South Sudan. The Central Equatoria state government however recommended that both the national government and the state government should have continued to coexist in Juba town. However, the national government had wanted Juba to be under the jurisdiction of the national government administratively, a demand the state government had rejected. The state government also rejected other proposals from the national government, including an area called Gondokoro Island North of Juba town to become the new capital for the national level of government. In 2003 before the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) the leadership of the movement chaired by late John Garang de Mabior resolved that Ramciel be the new capital for South Sudan. However, the decision was reversed after an appeal from Equatorian intellectuals and elders who wanted Juba to remain the capital. The relationship between the national government, the state and the host community has not been smooth since 2005. In a lengthy debate, the Council of Ministers resolved to relocate to the new capital and directed the minister of housing and physical planning to come up with modalities for the relocation process. Ramciel or Ramkiel, which is few hundreds of kilometers away from Juba, is geographically at the center of South Sudan and is almost no man’s land. Located in the Lakes state, the area borders Jonglei state and is not fare from Central, and Eastern Equatoria states. The size of the territory for the federal capital will be demarcated in the area and be independent territory outside the jurisdiction the state. Marial said the process of planning, surveying and putting in place the infrastructures needed may take three to five years to complete. He added that the relocation will be gradual process implemented in stages. (ST) END2 3. South Sudan planning to move its capital from Juba Sun Sep 4, 2011 5:32pm GMT * Cabinet plans to move capital in five to eight years * South Sudan, world's newest nation, has little infrastructure * Minister says firms already offering proposals for a move By Hereward Holland JUBA, Sept 4 (Reuters) - South Sudan said on Sunday it planned to move its capital to a more central location in the next few years, a project analysts say would be a costly distraction for a nation with almost no roads. Juba lies to the south of the country that split from the rest of Sudan to become an independent state on July 9. Following a resolution by the cabinet, the capital would be moved in five to eight years to Ramciel, a largely uninhabited area in Lakes state near the centre of the world's newest nation. It would sit on the west bank of the White Nile river. South Sudan's information minister, Barnaba Marial Benjamin, said the new site, which has no permanent buildings at present, lies roughly 100 km (60 miles) north of Juba. "There is no adequate land in Juba. The land available is too small," he said. "The only area that could accommodate the new government in Juba is an area for the migration of animals." Juba is a city of potholed streets and muddy lanes, although efforts are being made to spruce up the town with new tarmac roads, solar-powered street lighting in places and even floral arrangements in the central reservation on one street. Benjamin said several companies, including a South Korean firm, have already put forward design proposals for building the new capital but no decision had been made. The total cost for the project is not yet known, he said. "The government wants to put in proper infrastructure for the new city," he said. South Sudan's secession, which split Africa's largest country, followed a January referendum promised in a 2005 peace deal that ended decades of civil war. The war left a country with few hardened roads, a poor power supply and limited other infrastructure. "I think there are other more pressing issues than the moving or rebuilding of the capital," said Sampson Wassara, an associate political science professor at Juba University. "The government needs to look at consolidating and finishing the activities from the interim period before they think about making decisions that require extra expenditure," he said. "We are a landlocked country. We need roads and connections to Uganda, Kenya and Ethiopia. These are priorities. South Sudan is isolated. It needs bridges across the Nile and roads connecting the states," he added. The vast Sudd swamp, one of the world's largest wetlands, comprises more than 15 percent of the landlocked nation, which is extremely underdeveloped after years of war and neglect. By most estimates, the country, which is slightly smaller than Texas, has less than 100 km of paved roads. (Editing by Edmund Blair and Karolina Tagaris) http://af.reuters.com/article/sudanNews/idAFL5E7K40JI20110904?sp=true END3 ______________________ John Ashworth Sudan Advisor [email protected] +254 725 926 297 (Kenya mobile) +249 919 695 362 (Sudan mobile) +27 82 853 3556 (South Africa mobile) +44 750 304 1790 (UK/international) +88 216 4334 0735 (Thuraya satphone) PO Box 52002 - 00200, Nairobi, Kenya This is a personal e-mail address and the contents do not necessarily reflect the views of any organisation -- The content of this message does not necessarily reflect John Ashworth's views. Unless explicitly stated otherwise, John Ashworth is not the author of the content and the source is always cited. You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "sudan-john-ashworth" group. 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