By Yiep Joseph
A civil society activist has called on the national government to repair Juba-Nimule highway, citing that it continues to worsened due to rain.
Mr. Edmund Yakani, Executive Director for Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO) Said that Juba-Nimule highway that connects South Sudan to other part of East Africa, is in sorrow state.
“I would like to be some opportunity to amplify my voice for second or third time to the attention of Vice president for infrastructure cluster and Vice President, for economic cluster on status of Juba-Nimule Road it is worsening with a lot of potholes” Yakani said.
“The status of Juba, Nimule with potholes is getting worse. and we are all aware that Juba-Nimule Road is a Lifeline route for South Sudan” he added.
Yakani who travelled on the Juba-Nimule Road expressed that he received first hand information as he was encountering potholes all over the strategic road.
“I am a bit concerned that the potholes that I have witnessed as I’m travel on the same road is getting worse and it’s becoming worse and worse every now and then and also it is rain season” he said.
“I’m speaking with experience of seeing the potholes on Juba-Nimule Road, with some part being washed away by water if not handle on time it may worsen and it affect the movement of people and goods” he added.
He appealed to the Vice president for Infrastructure as well Vice President for Economic cluster to empower Ministry of roads to embark on the repair.
The Activist urged hat engineering companies should repair Juba-Nimule Road in order to ease the movement of people.
“Please help the population of South Sudan by fixing their potholes that we have witnessed on Juba-Nimule Road, as a part of your Civic responsibility and social corporate” he said.
Yakani also called on the government to improve the status of migration offices at Nimule in order to meet world standard.
“I would like to appeal to the leadership of the country that we need to see status of Improvement of our migration facilities and our security facilities” he said.
In 2023 the head chief of Pageri Payam in Magwi County, Eastern Equatoria State, appealed to the government to speed up rehabilitation of Juba-Nimule highway to easy movement.
“We are hearing that money has been given to the people of tender to rehabilitate the road, but we see the road section at Kerepi is yet to be repaired,” said Margaret Akongo Oliver.
In July 2023, the national government launched the redevelopment and rehabilitation of the single carriage Juba-Nimule highway.
Two months later, the Ministry of Roads and Bridges suspended the roadworks with plans to build a dual carriage.
In addition, the Ugandan government also announced plans to rehabilitate the highway to boost its economy following a request from its traders.
The appeal comes after the deadly accident that claimed four lives along Juba-Nimule highway on Wednesday afternoon in Moil area.
In September 2012, President Salva Kiir and Susan Page, the then US ambassador to South Sudan, inaugurated South Sudan’s 192-kilometer-long Juba-Nimule Road, the largest infrastructure project ever built in South Sudan, and the young nation’s first paved highway.
The Juba-Nimule Road was the top infrastructure priority of the Kiir administration following the signing of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement that ended Sudan’s civil war.
The road reduced travel time between Nimule and Juba from eight hours to less than three hours, linking Juba with Uganda and providing the shortest, most efficient route to the Port of Mombasa in Kenya.
But with what observers would describe as ‘negligence’, the highway got damaged by uncontrolled truck weights and lack of maintenance.