The Juba – Bor Road Highway: A Transformative Project that has Changed the Face of Infrastructure Development in Our Country
5 min read
Thon Atem Ayiei
By James Thon Atem, Juba, South Sudan
Sunday, 26 March 2023 (PW) — The road is one of the greatest public resources available for public consumption without prior governmental approval. In modern inhabitancy and growing economies like ours, the standard road is a basic need for everyone that lives metropolitan and commercial lives. Therefore, South Sudanese demand standard road networks connecting the States and beyond.
Besides all the complex needs assessment involved, road networks are much more to the people. Road networks bring people, places, and businesses closer, enhancing the country’s sociocultural relationships and the same time, boosting economic growth. An increase in economic activities, improved security and eased social interaction is what a good road network means to the citizens.
Allow me to walk you through a personal conviction in the value of road projects but, most importantly, the role of Africa Resources Corporation Ltd (ARC)-Standard Road Construction Project, an indigenous road construction company that has magnificently transformed our network and the resulting numerous job opportunities that the citizens of this Republic have enjoyed. For an authentic view, I would like to talk about my previous experiences on the Juba-Bor Road in 2007 and 2016, respectively. But I would also not fail to highlight citizens’ simple but indispensable task in appreciating and protecting government roads and any other public infrastructural projects that profoundly benefit the citizenry.
A bit of historical context that may be lost to many is that following the Naivasha Peace Agreement-the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in 2005, the Southern part of Sudan, now South Sudan, was declared an autonomous government with all the governing powers and management functions. However, while the regional government was unilaterally committed to safeguarding the CPA protocols and implementation matrix, road development wasn’t prioritized to the required standards.
To see the immediate impact of this lack of prioritization of standard road network, you must have travelled to Bor from Juba between 2006 and 2020 as I did. It was 120 km of the tiresome, hectic, and ever-lasting trek. On either side, a jungle enclosed with all fear of insecurity and anything could surely happen. With these risks, traders faced numerous cost and security-related risks transporting goods and services hence the high prices of commodities.
However, that is now only a story to be told after the completion of Phase one of the government road developmental projects dubbed “Crude for the Roads” between Juba-Bor. Today, the Juba-Bor Road journeys have become safer, and their full economic potential, which stayed in ruins for many years, is coming to life. The journeys are economically driven today and are increasingly becoming productive to the economy.
Other socioeconomic benefits include health emergencies, social coordination, and cultural exchange. Bor town continues to thrive commercially in transport, housing construction, retail shops, warehouses, and fishery activities.
The Mading-Bor is a flourishing economic hub as of 2021-2023, and the future is better. All these are for the benefit of the public, private and government sectors. If there is anything the public should appreciate, it is the job well done by ARC and many other indigenous companies to change the infrastructural face of our country. Even more appreciable is that they have ensured wonderful work ethic and labour practice by ensuring peaceful and formidable working relations with company workers and the local community. This is a commendable trend for now and our future projects.
Notwithstanding, ARC has not been able to achieve these milestones without both internal and external challenges. The West sanctioned ARC over far-fetched allegations of graft. But the public has learnt to separate issues from non-issues. It must be shocking to those who engineered the sanction. The public perception of ARC in constructing standard roads in the country hasn’t changed. Most citizens understood and viewed it as a politically motivated move to vilify local companies.
And no doubt, the public is largely right. I must compliment the public for being intransigent in supporting the sanctions imposed without thorough public consultations. It is such a kind of patriotism that will take this country forward.
Look at it keenly; the hammering of South Sudan’s economy has been the order of the day since our government’s diplomatic relations with the western world deteriorated. Over the last ten years of political conflicts and the civil war in 2013, sanction after sanction has been the order of the day. South Sudan people need services that do not sanction after sanctions and Sentry reports after Sentry reports.
These sanctions and reports do not address the immediate needs of the South Sudanese. They need companies that create jobs for them and business leaders who are focused on investing at home. The labour economy is one of the fastest growing sectors in developing countries such as South Sudanese. Imagine how many truck drivers, machinery drivers, road sign regulators, cooks, and the entire workforce of ARC are South Sudanese nationals. ARC and many other national corporate companies have demonstrated their commitment.
I conclude that it will take a deliberate approach for the public and youth fraternity to support all these indigenous projects in advancing road construction between States and towns. These projects, including fast-tracking the road networks and deliveries of commercial activities across the country, would improve our livelihoods through affordable inter-state movements of goods and services like we have seen in recent years between Juba-Nimule, Juba-Bor and Juba-Terekeka. The flourishing economic activities in these towns due to road networks and connection to Juba, the capital is worth and deserves our support and more.
Lastly, it is also important to support the government when it allocates certain budgets for basic infrastructure developments, especially for roads, schools, clean water, and hospital constructions. This way, South Sudan will develop faster, and its citizens can get jobs in those developmental projects.
Our perception of foreign companies must change now. We depended on them for too long, but now local companies have shown us the potential we harbour locally and perhaps why we must avoid blatant exploitation and underpayment from some of the foreign companies we have witnessed. God Bless Our Country!
The author, James Thon Atem, is a concerned South Sudanese citizen who can be reached via his email: jamesatem22@gmail.com
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