By Akol Madut Ngong
The First Vice President, Dr. Riek Machar Teny has urged the water resource management experts and members of the public to stickily base their on arguments and interest where the country tackles the issue of Nile waters and its tributaries.
First VP made the remarks yesterday during his address at the closure of public consultations on dredging of the Nile tributaries, and the resumption of Jonglei Canal that sparked public outcry in the nation.
Addressing the closure of the five days consultations, Dr. Riek Machar called on presenters, commentators and the general public to base their presentations on the national interest on how to develop, manage and control water system in the country.
“We have no issues with Egyptians, whether engineering or political background, we have no issue with them, we know if they presented to South Sudan, they have given to South Sudan, we cannot stigmatize our people against them,” Dr. Riek said.
“We don’t want to make our decision for the purpose of being against our people, we must make our decision based on our national interest and this is important, if you refer to the SPLM manifesto chapter five, I want you to get out sources of it, we did that to prosecute all and to make this something independent” he said.
“Our relations must be based on nation to nation relations, any project we do, we do it putting our national interest, put it into consideration and this is very important to our people to know, when we make our decision is not on any external factors or on any frigates’ against any nations but our national interest,” he further stated.
“We wrote the manifesto of the SPLM, one of the issues, we mentioned was the Jonglei canal, the excavation of the Jonglei canal but our emphasis was on the fact that 3 million Egyptians prisoners were going to be brought to do farming along the Jonglei canal, 3 million people to be transplanted, a place is not easy though it saves for the purpose of the struggle” he said.