By Yang Ater Yang
Lakes State Council of Ministers has approved the establishment of seven new payams, responding to the requests made by community leaders and payam authorities.
This decision was made during Council of Ministers meeting No. 001/2025, led by Lakes State Governor Rin Tueny Mabor.
The memorandum presented by the Minister of Local Government and Law Enforcement Agencies advocated for the formation of additional payams, taking into consideration the population size and the number of regional courts in the area.
The proposal involved elevating several bomas from five counties within Lakes State to the status of payams.
After extensive discussions, the Council of Ministers approved the elevation of the following bomas to payams:
1. From Abang Payam in Yirol West County:
o Benyloom Boma to Benylom Payam
o Botoi Boma to Botoi Payam
o Panekar Boma to Panekar Payam
o Panliet Boma to Panliet Payam
o Abang Payam will retain its current status, resulting in a total of five payams.
2. Billing Boma from Adior Payam in Yirol East County has been elevated to payam.
3. Pagang Boma from Paloc Payam in Rumbek East County has been elevated to a payam.
4. Pok Boma from Aloor Payam in Rumbek North County has been promoted to a payam.
5. The headquarters of Geer Payam in Yirol West County will be relocated from Aluak Luak to Aluak Luak Gadim.
William Koji Kirjok, the acting Minister of Information and Communication in Lakes State, stated that the demand for additional payams has persisted for a long time.
“Based on the requests from the people of Lakes State, particularly the communities seeking additional payams, this proposal was presented to the Council of Ministers chaired by Governor Rin Tueny Mabor,” he said.
Kirjok explained that after thorough deliberation, the Council decided to promote several bomas to payams as per the community requests.
Additionally, Kirjok addressed the issue concerning the headquarters of Geer Payam.
“The Geer Payam headquarters has been using one office in Aluak Luak Payam; therefore, the Council of Ministers decided to separate the headquarters of Geer Payam from Aluak Luak to Aluak Luak Gadim,” he stated.
He emphasized that the number of bomas being promoted reflects the community’s requests.
“I believe there are five counties involved: Yirol East, Yirol West, Rumbek East, and Rumbek North. We based our decisions on these requests and the assessments made regarding the number of regional courts,” he said.
Kirjok noted that many payams in Lakes State are associated with a single regional court. For example, Abang Payam has six regional courts, and its population is significant.
“Based on these factors, it is justified to establish additional payams to ensure that each regional court is assigned to a payam,” he explained.
He reiterated that the Council of Ministers, through the relevant minister, will continue assessing whether further demands can be met. If a demand is justified, they will address it; if not, they will advise against pursuing it.
“While we do not have the capacity to approve a county, discussions in the governors’ forum allow us to assess areas that need a payam. This is why we have the mandate to approve some payams based on community demand, but we cannot propose or approve a county,” he concluded.