The Hypnotic Clean Water Project in Juba halted by J-1 Fighting
4 min readBy Emmanuel Ariech Deng, Juba, South Sudan
January 3, 2017 (SSB) — Any place in the world that can possibly win public credibility as modern, must take into account qualities necessary to describe it “modernized” or else never attain the accolades of modernization without clean water, electricity and security to the inhabitants.
With absence of key installments especially clean water system and lack of access to electricity in the city, Juba residents both locals and internationals remain skeptical to give this city the recognition of being a modern center. So Juba, the biggest village in world by 2010-2011, is now the biggest slum in world by 2013 to 2016 and through to 2017. No clean water!
The mesmerizing initiative funded from Japan Tax-Payers Money through their overseas organization JICA (Japan International Corruption Agency) was planned to get completed by 2017 as was reported by local newspapers in juba with the water system engineers physically seen in action along main roads of Juba. However, nobody was sure of another political uncertainties to occur in the country by July 2016.
Despite the political process still unresolved, Juba inhabitants’ expectation for clean water by 2017 remains unlimited and a long standing basic need to be accomplished for them. They have spiritually condemned those who endangered the installation of water pumping process that denied them early consumption of clean water this year.
Who still doesn’t know the importance of clean water? Who doesn’t know that water is life? Who should access clean water and who should not? In answering these questions, all of us are aware of the importance of water! We all know that water is life! The point of contention here is that, incumbent government officials are just fond of lavish life for themselves and do not care for the entire population of the city as well as the rural populace, at least for basic needs.
The Juba residents thought this would mark the end of water-tankers movement and hike prices in paying a drum of water, following the announcement of the clean water project to finish early 2017. Now who to blame? It is the J1 fighting which escalated to full scale war in Jebel by July, it is the alleged perpetrators to bear the responsibility, that lack of security assurances to foreign engineers and their international organizations, would continue to deter the development projects and foreign investments such as this clean water installment.
How long shall we continue to put on hold the donated developmental initiatives and plans? It is true and disreputable that government has drastically failed to use its oil money for infrastructure development and basic needs over the years because of systemic corruption and privatization of public funds in a bright day light and now taking trends towards freely donated basic human needs, that South Sudanese should have to live this extreme poverty and insecurity to compromise those in power working for the failure of the country. Shame on you!
For those who advance their political interests in the expense of the suffering poor who actually deserve government protection, government delivery of basic services, must get punished by God and foreign powers, to ensure no free walk with the impunity to the offended nation and the bereaved families.
If Juba remains the capital, then the government has to re-assure the clean water installation funding agency and their engineers to resume the project (s) which would at the end of the day generates revenues to the government and more imperatively, the availability of clean water and electricity in any city stand the immediate priority if the government of that city intends to develop quickly and in good faith.
Security assurance to investors, international and humanitarian organizations as well as city inhabitants should be guaranteed to make the city develop more quickly compared to the city degradation we have witnessed in the last three or so years of continued fighting in the capital.
The unwillingness to develop the infrastructure and interest to mismanage public funds is just seen immediately after anyone arrives to Juba International Airport before the darkness unfolded at night in Juba with noise of generators from Hotels, Shops and few lucrative elements.
Otherwise, I remain your contributor for common concerns and concrete issues!
You can reach the author via his email: Ariech Emmanuel <ariechemmanuel2015@gmail.com>
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