By Bida Elly David
The national legislative assembly after thorough deliberation has passed the long awaited wildlife conservation bill to protect and regulate the use of the Country’s wildlife species to abstain poaching as well as approved military ranking of its officers against uncertainties.
Wildlife conservation bill is one of the bills that contain set of regulations and laws concerning the management and the use of the Country’s wildlife species to generate more resources for the benefit and development of Countries.
Most countries including South Sudan across the world use wildlife conservation as one of the recreational and tourism institutions as well as a source of generating money for improving their economy and a way to solve balance of payment problems.
Recently, the government made a positive move to arrest number of people who allegedly killed wild animals without permission being granted to them.
Speaking to the Media after the sitting yesterday, John Agany Deng, the chairperson of the information committee at the national legislative assembly said despite the approval of the bill, there was a problem of whether the institution should remain as a directorate or required military ranking.
He said that the parliament confirmed and passed that the wildlife services should bear military ranks and run their duties through military armaments to safeguard the wild species as other countries do.
“The wildlife act is bearing ranks like any other military discipline that we have in the Country. They are also well equipped as you know that they have to protect the wildlife. You cannot protect the wild life with bear hands.”
“They must be trained and be in the military uniform. For that matter, they are tasked to keep the wildlife away. So, we have confirmed that the wildlife will bear the military ranks and they will execute their duties as it came to be according to the laws of South Sudan.”
“So, today the national legislative assembly came into consensus that the bill has to be passed in totality and shortly it will go to the presidency to their session. Today we have squared out the two bills. One of the two bills is the constitutional making bill which we passed last week,” he said.
The parliament passed military ranking for the wildlife due to the uncertain risks as some wild animals could be unfriendly and ungentle to the extent of causing harms to the demilitarized civilians.
Not only that, Agany also pointed out that wildlife officers deserved to be well armed to easily find ways to get rid of poachers who kill the animals for subsistence and commercial use.
“Wildlife is one of the income generating institutions bringing a lot of hard currencies to the Country as far as tourism is concerned and the species that exist in form are safe. It is an important institution that we need to follow by bearing military ranks,” he said.
Agany revealed that running the wildlife conservation as a directorate would be a combined task since a military general can be tasked to direct in the conservation and vice versa.
“With directorate, they are combined I can be a major general but assigned to be a director of a certain institution in the wildlife. So, the two can be combined as well. The issue is that, the military sector is there and the administrators from the civil wing are also there,” he said.
However, he reiterated that the bill consists of rules and punishments to people who shall disobey the law through destroying the wild beasts.
He added that the bill shall be referred to the presidency for further deliberation and analysis.