By Tereza Jeremiah Chuei
The Governor of Eastern Equatoria State Louis Lobong Lojore declared that livestock are not the problem but rather the attitudes of people are to blame for cattle-related violence that has often triggered inter-communal violence and subnational conflicts across the country.
The governor asserted that stringent rules that will squarely deal with cattle raiding, and other offences related to livestock are needed in the country.
Lobong told the National Government during a national conference on livestock in Juba to Act tough on cattle raiders.
“If we put in place strict rules and people respect them then we will have no problem” governor Lobong said in a statement on his official Facebook page.
“Livestock is not a problem, people are the problem, it is in fact our attitude that is the problem in this Country” he added.
Lobong stated that cattle have been in South Sudan since time immemorial, and he appealed for stronger adherence to the rule of law by citizens.
The three days national livestock conference started on 1st ofSeptember 2022 in Juba under the theme; ‘Stop cattle raiding and Migration related conflict- transition to commercialization”.
Hundreds of leaders from the ten States and the, three Administrative Areas are attending the conference aimed at ending the longstanding hostilities among communities.
The conference is expected to review the current situation of cattle raiding and migration related conflicts in South Sudan.
It’s also expected to explore solutions to tackle cattle raiding and migration related conflict in South Sudan, and share strategies to transform the livestock industry, moving towards greater commercialization.
The conference also seeks to come up with rules to regulate the movements of cattle and how to handle conflict that may arise in during the dry season.
Livestock occupies an important place in socio-economic welfare of pastoral, agro-pastoral and mixed crop or livestock farming households in South Sudan.