By Philip Buda Ladu
Council of Ministers has directed Minister of Transport to ensure measures are introduced into South Sudan Civil Aviation Sector to vet aircrafts operating in the country for quality.
This directive follows a pitiful trend of plane crashes that continue to claim innocent lives since independence.
On Wednesday, the country witnessed one of its latest string of deadly aircraft accident that killed 20 people including 15 South Sudanese all oil worker when a Ukrainian Passenger plane crashed near Unity Oil Fields just three minutes shortly after taking off for Juba.
Minister of Information and Government Spokesperson, Michael Makuei told reporters that the Minister of Transport, Madut Biar, briefed the cabinet on the unfortunate plane crash in Unity State during Friday’s Council of Ministers Meeting No.2/2025.
Makuei said the cabinet conveyed its condolences to the relatives of the victims in this unfortunate accident, stating “they stand with them in solidarity and directed the Minister to continue with the investigation until facts are clear about this incident.”
Although the cause of the crash is yet to be established as an investigation has been launched, the cabinet seems to buy the popular public view that most if not all of the aircrafts being operated in the country are those grounded in most parts of the world.
“It was noted that there are some of the planes that come into South Sudan and they are not really in a good condition, they are not airworthy and they come to South Sudan” the government spokesman told reporters on Friday.
In a preemptive government attempt to curb preventable future aircraft crashes the cabinet urged the minister of transport to screen out unworthy aircraft from flying the South Sudan airspace.
“So, the Minister (of Transport) is directed to take utmost care and make sure that whatever plane that comes to South Sudan comes in good condition and so forth” Makuei stated.
The investigation committee reportedly left for Bentiu on Friday morning, to go on facts facts-finding mission and also collect the black box, the radio, and the voice recorder, so that they would be taken to the manufacturer to go and analyze what had happened.