Showing posts with label Eastern Equatoria. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Eastern Equatoria. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

N Central Sudan: Some bus drivers in Jebel Aulia earn 100 pounds a day & free fuel during elections

Transport Business in Jebel Aulia Booms Thanks to Elections
From SRS - Sudan Radio Service:
14 April 2010 - (Jebel Aulia) – Bus drivers in Jebel Aulia say business is booming as they transport voters to the polling stations.

SRS spoke to some drivers at polling stations at an IDP camp in Jebel Aulia on Tuesday.

Al-Haj Ramadan Ismail, a minibus driver, explains how business has improved over the last few days.

[Al-Haj Ramadan]: “I transport voters to the polling stations so that they come to cast their votes and go back home, I bring them from home and return them home this is how I am working with them and the work is good, business is good now and elections are going on well, no fear, nothing. Thanks be to God especially working with the NCP. Truly, the work is good. Yes, truly the work is good, not bad. During the elections, I earn 100 pounds a day, it is good; they give me a hundred pounds and give me fuel free. Thanks be to God, it is good.”

Osman Al-Amin, another bus driver, also says business that business has improved since voting began.

[Osman Al-Amin]: “The work is going well. There are managers and monitors in the bus and there are also delegates to dispatch people and bring them and they explain the voting process to the voters, how to cast their votes. Those who don’t know and have no idea at all come and ask what they are supposed to. I transport them from one place to another, and to their residences where they come from. They gather in one place for example at the head office of the popular committee in their area, in the mosque or church they gather there and I come and transport them to polling stations. Of course the management of the area informs them of the electoral process, and then they gather in one place. I come and transport them. Of course, political parties organize them, whether it's the NCP or the Popular Congress Party. I am just working. I have no problem with this party or with that party."

Those were two bus drivers who spoke to SRS at Jebel Aulia IDP camp.
More News from SRS - Sudan Radio Service:


Charles Haskins
News Programming Advisor
Sudan Radio Service (SRS)
a project of Education Development Center
T: +254 715 05 2924 or +254 (20) 387 0906
F: +254 (20) 387 6520

Listen to SRS on the radio or on the web at www.sudanradio.org
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Jabal Awliya
Jabal Awliya (jäb'äl ou"lē-ä') [key]or Jebel Aulia (jeb'ul' ou'lēu) [key], village, N central Sudan. Nearby is a large dam (completed 1937) that is used to control the flow of the Nile to aid the Aswan Dam in storing water for summer cultivation in parts of Egypt.

Jebel Aulia dam after floods

Photo: Jebel Aulia dam after floods (Alun McDonald)

Monday, April 05, 2010

Sudan's NEC chairman begins 4-day tour to North and South Kordofan and the three States of Darfur

Abil Alier

Abil Alier to Leave for Kordofan and Darfur States
From Sudanese Online (SUNA), Monday, 05 April 2010:
Khartoum, April 4 (SUNA) - Chairman of the National Elections Commission, Abil Alier, Monday is due to begin Monday a four-day tour to North and South Kordofan and the three States of Darfur to get informed on the latest arrangements for the coming stages of voting, vote counting and declaration of the results in the election process.

Alier will be accompanied during the tour by the member of the commission, Dr. Mukhtar Al-Assam and the two national experts, Mohamed Al-Fadil and Al-Sir Ahmed Babiker

An official source at the National Elections Commission said that Deputy Chairman of the commission, Prof. Abdalla Ahmed Abdalla, accompanied by the national expert Bushra Ahmed Al-Sheikh, are due to leave for Nahral-Neil and the Northern States on April 8 to be informed on the ongoing preparations for holding the election process

The source indicated that member of the National Elections Commission, Dr. Mahasin Hajal-Safi, and the national expert, Osman Haj Al-Zaki, would leave on April 6 for the States of Great Bahral-Ghazal, Buhairat and Warap to inspect the preparations for the coming voting stage.

He said that member of the commission, Gen. (police) Abdalla Al-Hardallo, and the national expert, Khalil Hassan Khalil, will leave on April 6 for Wohda and Jongli States, while member of the commission Flister Baya and the national expert Baha-Eddin Al-Sayed will leave for Western and Eastern Equatoria States to be informed on the arrangement for the coming stage of the election process.

Saturday, November 07, 2009

UNICEF: The Netherlands donates $23.5 million for safe water in Sudan

Great news from UNICEF (KHARTOUM/JUBA) 06 November 2009:
The Dutch Government has given $23.5 million to UNICEF in Sudan which will be used to provide safe water and improved sanitation for hundreds of thousands of people across the country.

“This very generous contribution by the Dutch Government will have a real impact on saving lives,” said Hilde Johnson UNICEF’s Deputy Executive Director. Every year in Sudan about 60,000 children under the age of five die from diarrhoea, a preventable disease caused in large part by unsafe water and poor sanitation. “This donation will help to provide safe drinking water, sanitary latrines and fund public campaigns targeting hygiene behaviour.”

“Not only will this funding help to reduce the number of children who die each year, it will also help improve the lives of women and girls who often travel many kilometres to collect water for their families, Johnson said.”

Half of this contribution will be used for projects in the transitional areas of Blue Nile State, South Kordofan and Abyei over the next four years.

Southern Sudan will benefit equally from the Dutch funding which will be for projects in Northern Bahr el Ghazal, Eastern Equatoria and Jonglei.

The Dutch Ambassador to Khartoum, Norbert Braakhuis, said he hoped that providing equal access to resources like water, which had often been the source of conflict in Sudan, would help to promote a sustainable peace between different communities.

“Many communities are still very fragile after Sudan’s long civil war. We hope that providing basic services will help people resettle peacefully and build strong ties between different groups,” he added.

The official agreement was signed today by the Dutch Ambassador in Khartoum, Norbert Braakhuis, and UNICEF’s Deputy Executive Director Hilde Johnson, who is currently visiting Sudan. The signing was also attended by UNICEF’s Representative in Sudan, Nils Kastberg.

UNICEF video and high-resolution photography for media organizations is available at: http://www.thenewsmarket.com/unicef

About UNICEF
UNICEF is on the ground in over 150 countries and territories to help children survive and thrive, from early childhood through adolescence. The world’s largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments.

For additional information, please contact:
Amber Henshaw, Chief, Media & External Relations, UNICEF Sudan
Mobile: + 249 (0)912 177 291
Email: ahenshaw@unicef.org

Douglas Armour, Communication Manager
Mobile: + (249) (0) 928 278 975 + (249) (0) 913 143 481
Email: darmour@unicef.org

Abdel-Rahman Ghandour, Chief Communication, UNICEF Middle East and North Africa
Mobile: + 962 (6) 550 2407
Email: arghandour@unicef.org

Kathryn Donovan, UNICEF New York,
Tel + 1 212 326 7452,
Email kdonovan@unicef.org

Monday, November 02, 2009

South Sudan: At least 8 people killed in clashes between rival ethnic groups near Malakal, Upper Nile State

The BBC's Peter Martell, in Juba, says although the clashes are not believed to be connected to the election process, they do indicate the enormous logistical and security challenges the authorities face.

Speaking to Sudan Radio Service by phone from Juba on Thursday,  chairman of the southern Sudan high electoral committee, Caesar Arkangelo said increased cases of insecurity prompted the Chairman of the National Election Commission, Abel Alier to tour southern Sudan. 

From BBC News Monday, 02 November 2009 UK 19:19 GMT - excerpt:
Fresh violence hits south Sudan
Deadly clashes have broken out in southern Sudan, as officials begin a month-long registration of voters for the first full election in 24 years.

The semi-autonomous south's information minister Paul Mayom said at least eight people were killed in the violence.

He offered no further detail, but a BBC correspondent says the violence is not believed to be linked to the vote.

The latest violence reportedly broke out between rival ethnic groups in the early hours of Sunday in a village near Malakal town, about 300 miles (480km) north of regional capital Juba.

The BBC's Peter Martell, in Juba, says although the clashes are not believed to be connected to the election process, they do indicate the enormous logistical and security challenges the authorities face.
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From Sudan Radio Service, 29 October 2009:
Electoral body concerned about insecurity
(Juba) - The chairman of the southern Sudan high electoral committee, Caesar Arkangelo says insecurity in most parts of southern Sudan remains a major challenge for voter registration exercise.

Speaking to Sudan Radio Service by phone from Juba on Thursday, Caesar said increased cases of insecurity prompted the Chairman of the National Election Commission, Abel Alier to tour southern Sudan.

[Cesar Arkangelo]: “His Excellency Abel Alier came with a delegation of two, one commissioner and one secretary general for national election commission. They were concerned about an incident that took place on 22nd of this month when the registration equipments for training were being transported to our states by trucks and at Gudele there was scalpel between the security people where one woman was killed and two soldiers were wounded over an internal thing. So as the chairperson for the election commission in the Sudan he was highly concerned because the most important part of election is registration and the equipment for registration will be taken to all the states that is Jonglei, Eastern, Western Equatoria and of late Warrap and Western Bahr el–Ghazal states were being interrupted. So it becomes a concern to him and he came to check with all of us including Goss for security arrangement. ”

The voter registration exercise will begin officially on 1 November and ends on 30th.
Click on Malakal - and other labels - here below to view related reports.

Friday, August 14, 2009

More than 2,000 people killed in South Sudan since Jan 2009 -UN

A humanitarian emergency is brewing in South Sudan warns UN Deputy Coordinator for South Sudan, Lise Grande.

Ms Grande said five states in southern Sudan are at risk: Jonglei, Upper Nile, Western Equatoria, Eastern Equatoria and Northern Bahr El-Ghazal.

From United Nations Radio by Jocelyne Sambira, Thursday, 13 August 2009:
A humanitarian emergency is brewing in South Sudan warns UN Senior Official
UN Deputy Coordinator for South Sudan is warning that the country is in a critical phase due to severe food shortages and mass displacements caused by escalating inter-tribal conflicts.

"Since January of this year, more than two thousand people in Southern Sudan have been killed as a result of inter-tribal conflict and a quarter of a million people - two hundred and fifty thousand people have been displaced across the ten states."

Liz Grande told reporters in Khartoum on Wednesday that the situation is getting worse because of plummeting oil prices, forcing the Government of South Sudan (GOSS) to put a halt to much needed development plans.

"Probably no other government in the region has suffered as much from the global meltdown as Southern Sudan. It has lost a staggering 40% of the revenues that it expected."

The UN senior official estimates that 85 million dollars is the bare minimum needed to keep people alive in that region and much of the humanitarian funding has dried up.

The Secretary-General has warned that the recent inter-tribal fighting in South Sudan is destabilizing the entire country and putting at risk the progress made by the Comprehensive Peace Agreement.
Lise Grand

Photo: Deputy Coordinator for South Sudan, Lise Grande. (UN)

From Sudan Radio Service, Thursday, 13 August 2009:
UNMIS Describes A Critical Humanitarian Situation in South Sudan
(Khartoum) – Addressing a press conference in Khartoum on Wednesday on the humanitarian situation in southern Sudan, UNMIS Deputy Resident and Humanitarian Co-coordinator for southern Sudan, Lise Grande, said rural populations that depend on agriculture for survival have been going hungry since the first of June.

[Lise Grande-English]: “Here is the bad news. The hunger gap for large part of the whole population in five critical states is going to be extended not to mid-August, but all the way through to mid October there us going to be a lot of hungry people in Southern Sudan, that hunger gap will go from early June right away through to mid-October, now, in terms of food assistance that will be required again, work is still being done right now by the World Food Programme and we can give you an indication that, remembering that ninety-six metric tonnes were already required, out of that WFP has only received eighty- thousand metric tonnes , so there is a gap of sixteen thousand metric tonnes right now. Then you add on top of that the food that is going to be required because the first harvest has failed and we are looking at the significant increase of assistance that is going to be needed. Of all the states in the south that have been hit hard, Jonglei may be the worst. We already know that the largest failure, the biggest failure in harvest is going to be precisely in that state”.

Grande said the UN agencies and humanitarian organizations in southern Sudan have asked for 412 million USD.

She said out of the requested amount what has been received is less than 60 million USD, adding that in order to save the lives of many people who are in need of food in southern Sudan, 85 million US dollars are urgently needed.

[Lise Grande]: “What is the red line? The red line is 85 million USD. You want to keep people alive in the south, 85 million USD, that is it, that is the bottom-line. More than ninety-percent of the entire population exists on less than one dollar a day. One out of every seven women that becomes pregnant is going to die. Of all of the deadly diseases in the world, there are thirteen of fourteen of them in southern Sudan. But for me there are two sets of statistics that sum up the situation in southern Sudan: the maternal mortality rate is the highest in the world, more women die during pregnancy than any place on the globe. Things are really, really, really tough in the south. Four years after the signing of the CPA, southern Sudan is facing an unimaginable set of problems. I know that a lot of attention that is given to Darfur. This is deserved, but the key point is that the south deserves much more than it is receiving, particularly now that the Comprehensive Peace Agreement is entering its critical stage”.

Grande said that throughout southern Sudan almost the entire population is facing a life-threatening situation.

[Lise Grande]: “Southern Sudan is facing crisis right now. It is caused by a combination of factors. Number one, the rain has been late, number two, the high level of insecurity and displacement that I have just described, number three there has been disruption of trade and number four, related to that has been a sharp increase in the price of food. We add all that together and we have a big food deficit. The WFP originally estimated for 2009 that 1.2 million people in southern Sudan are going to require some kind of food assistance and they appealed for ninety-six metric tonnes to do their part. We have started receiving data from hard-hit locations like Aweil in Bahr El-Ghazal. Data has indicated that the malnutrition rate was exceptional. In Aweil, the severe malnutrition rates are twice the emergency threshold."

Grande added that another factor that contributed to hunger in southern Sudan is the budget crisis. Southern Sudan has suffered a lot due to the recent drop in oil prices. The Government of southern Sudan has lost forty percent of the this year's expected revenue.

She said five states in southern Sudan are at risk: Jonglei, Upper Nile, Western Equatoria, Eastern Equatoria and Northern Bahr El-Ghazal.
Click on labels 'humanitarian disaster' and 'Jonglei' (here below) to see related reports and updates.