An Open Letter to the Newly Appointed Governor of Tonj State, Hon. Akec Tong Aleu
5 min readBy Mawien Mareng, Juba, South Sudan
January 24, 2016 (SSB) —- I would like to pass my best wishes for the new year to you Hon. Governor and your people of newly born state (Tonj State). I as one of the youth of Greater Tonj is excited and proud to be given our new state by H.E president Salva Kiir. I therefore, urge People of greater Tonj to kindly stand behind The president of the republic of South Sudan and Hon. Akec Tong to be able overcome challenges that may face them at the due course of executing their duties for the betterment of people of Tonj state and South Sudan as a whole.
Mr Hon. Governor my general of Objective of writing this letter to you is “To Change the name of Tonj state to Warrap state and the State’s headquarter should be called Tonj” We never want to bury the name of Warrap deep into the mud. We must be proud of Warrap since the name was derived from one of Greater Tonj Town known as “Warrap”. Other states broke away from Warrap not Warrap broke away from them.
Therefore, the Name of our state should have remained as Warrap state. It is our primary role as citizens of a particular state to come up with the name that is suitable for us not others to impose it on us. I’m suggesting to you Hon. Governor to move the motion of changing the slight error done by the president in the state parliament. People of Tonj are peace lovers and are united. Citizens of Greater Tonj are so patriotic to their country. As a concern citizen of this country, I have to ask myself that “What Are One’s Responsibilities with Respect to Patriotism?” Patriotism is love for one’s country or nation and loyalty to it.
This question clarifies the duty of patriotism itself, its distinction from immoderate nationalism, and some specific responsibilities flowing from patriotism. But since love for and loyalty toward the smaller, local community is analogous to patriotism, what is said here can be applied with appropriate qualifications to one’s attitude and duties toward both the local community and any intermediate community, such as the state or region and therefore, Citizens of Tonj State are ready to perform duties of a citizen.
It is the function of the citizen to keep the government from falling into error. Other duties are to voice opinions, individually to their elected representatives or collectively in small or large assemblies; to worship as they choose or not to worship at all; to be safe from unreasonable searches of their persons, their homes, or their private papers.
However, the theory of democratic government holds that along with these rights come responsibilities: to obey the laws; to pay legally imposed taxes; to serve on juries when called to do so; to be informed about issues and candidates; and to exercise the right to vote that has been won for so many through the toil and tears of their predecessors.
All these roles of a citizen I mentioned above, people of Greater Tonj are ready to follow them. I believe that Tonj will be the most peaceful state among the 28 states of South Sudan. And this hope would be an effort put in by Hon. Governor Akec Tong Aleu and the entire people of Tonj Great. In this way, we shall be able to develop our state better than the former old states headquarters.
My second suggestion is to allow investors and NGOs to invest in the state. This would be a great source for employment to the youth of Tonj in general. The present of the foreign investors and the community-based organizations will help kick out the following constraints in our state.
1) End poverty in all its forms everywhere
2) End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture
3) Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.
Advertisement because investors would operate on health sector
4) Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.
5) Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls in Greater Tonj.
6) Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
7) Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all.
8) Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work for all
9) Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization, and foster innovation
10) Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification and halt and reverse land degradation, and halt biodiversity loss
11) Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all level.
All these constraints above would be solved by central Government and Tonj State government with the collaborations of Tonj states citizens
MAY GOD BLESS MY PEOPLE OF TONJ STATE.
I BELIEVE IN OUR COUNTRY’S MOTTO “ FOR JUSTICE, LIBERTY AND PROSPERTY”
Mawienmarko is a student of Bugema University of Uganda. He can be contacted at mawienmarng2@gmail.com
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