By Mary Poni
The Governor of Western Equatoria State has promised the association of the Balanda people which was formed on the 4th of December (Sunday) 2022 an amount of one million South Sudanese pounds to start establishing offices.
The governor Alfred Futuyo Karaba announced the amount on Sunday in Juba during the first general assembly meeting for election under the theme; “Together for the Unity and Development of Balanda People”.
The chairperson-elect shall serve the Balanda community in Juba including those in the diaspora and in the state by bringing them closer to their culture.
The association is the first of its kind being formed since the country gained independence in 2011.
He urged the elected leaders to concentrate on community affairs and urged them not to mix their leadership in the community with politics.
Alfred Futuyo said the Balanda people should stay united and the leaders should engage more on uniting the community together including other tribes in the Western Equatoria region and countrywide.
Manga Francis, one of the members from the Balanda community of Western Equatoria said they should unite and cooperate for the association to achieve its success.
According to Manga, the constitution says a chairperson elected will serve for only two years’ term.
The chairperson elected and representing western Bhar-el-Ghazal, Andera Dominic, said that as a new person in the office, they are going to establish the offices and start working immediately as soon as possible.
He said if there was any misunderstanding now and before, it will be solved through reconciliation.
He assured that the Balanda are the last people in the country when it comes to organization “they are not organized” and that is why it took the formation of the association long and it has happened because it was started by the intellectuals.
“We Balanda People are not organized all over South Sudan,” he lamented.
“If we have an office with signpost, it will enable us to make a process of developing service deliveries to my community,” he stated.
He promised to work hand in hand with his counterparts to cooperate in organizing the communities by reconciling them from Western Bahr-El-Ghazal and Western Equatoria through the association formed.
“I am looking into implementation of some projects and that will happen if a cheerful donor gives us support to implement the project which in the areas of focus would be construction of schools, health facilities, Boreholes and by that, it will encourage the women and girls to get education,” he said.
Andera said implementation of the project will as well prevent girls from dropping out from school or early marriage.
“I am going to respect the constitution because I was being nominated by the people, I am not the one who imposed myself to be elected” Andera Dominic said.
The chairperson-elect, Andera Dominic who was a general in the army said his winning of the voters’ trust was because of his experience in serving as a general in the army and by that people do believe that once a person served in the army, he has experience which is very true.
“So, I think people trusted me based on that” he stated.
“Serving in the army is not serving in one community, it means the whole country and everyone living in that particular country” he noted.