28/12/2020
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NYUONG OPEN YOUR EYES:
“ STAND UP FOLLOW YOUR RIGHT”
Access to Power and Resources
- Nyuong don’t get their equitable share in the national power sharing. No Minister at National and State structures. For instance, given the recent allegiance to SPLM/A-IO and protection of the Nyuong-homeland to be the only SPLM/A-IO controlled stronghold in the Western-Nuer, Nyuong deserved more than just the Senior State Advisor and County Commissioner. In fact, County Commissionership should have not been a factor in the distribution of positions. It is a position Nyuong retained by their blood and sacrifice, no one gave it to us. We kept Nyuong from the influence of other political entities. In the political power equation, Nyuong could have taken either the National Minister allotted to Unity State or the Deputy Governor for Unity State on the SPLM/A-IO ticket. Yet, those fond of marginalizing us took all these and only gave us the Senior Advisor for Gender and Child-welfare. The Senior Advisor is not a decision making post, it is just for accommodation of an individual. This position will have no strong portfolio. We should be ashamed of this. It is not equitable to what we have contributed to the SPLM/A-IO.
- Disqualified in Contest for Governorship: In the past, we had qualified candidates to fill the post of governorship, but the forces in Bentiu found an excuse to exclude our abled people from attaining that position. It has now become clear that we can’t attain that position through Unity State. If the people in Bentiu are fit to rule us, we are fit to rule them. If they think we can be ruled and we can’t rule, we may need to think twice about this relationship. They can rule themselves, while we will be content with self-rule. Even Hon. Joseph Nhial Ruach who brags about his service credentials was dislodged from his deputy governorship to an advisor role. He is content with that. He should have retained the position of Deputy Governorship for Unity State, which is an influential position than an advisory role. Our leaders Chosen for us to Humiliate us:
The powers in Unity State have perfected the art of controlling our political, economic and social lives to our detriment. They do this by handpicking and appointing leaders whose interests lie not with our wellbeing but with who appointed them to office. They are sent to suppress our ambitions for development and prosperity by extracting our resources to give to their patrons in order to maintain their relationships and not with Nyuong public they rule. The appointed leaders are not guided by Nyuong context, situation and conditions of our population, but by the directives and sways of those who give them power an authority. When we cry for their removal we don’t succeed. Our choice of leaders is vehemently rejected, and often times a community backed person is badly humiliated. The powers in Bentiu don’t want us they are after our resources with intention to keep us backwards. We want to move on and to rid ourselves of this control and humiliation.
No Road Access:
Nyuong has no roads linking it to the Unity State capital which is more than 6-8 hrs drive away from the Panyijiar County HQs. There is only a trunk of road that ends at County HQs, which has since dilapidated and hasn’t seen any repair since 2010. Worse of all, the River Neng Bridge which used to give access is no more. It was destroyed during the war. There are no roads linking Panyijiar County directly to its neighbors in Lakes State. Internal roads are non-existent, Nyuong have continued to either walk on foot or use local water canoes to move from place to another through Swamps. The national and state government in Bentiu pays no attention to this important matter. Something must change in our psyche.
No Phone Networks:
Nyuong is the only county in Unity State which has never had phone networks (Zain, MTN and former VIVA Cell). Three Zain towers were erected in the area in 2012, but since then zain company has never taken the issue seriously. The National and Unity State governments have given this issue a blind eye and ear. Nyuong continues to communicate via less useful hand-held codan radios and expensive satellite phones. Finding solar or fuel powered electricity for these devices is equally cumbersome and unsustainable when a few are found. Nyuong happens to be the only county without such communication network in the entire Unity State. This must be a concern. It is a condition that only Nyuong masses can judge and make a conclusion on whether this was an intended or unintended by those with the power and influence to provide communities with network services. To bring the network home, Nyuong must be willing to decipher their current state of lack of networks for communication. It can’t be trusted on external forces of our marginalization and deprivation.
- Neglected Ports Along the River Nile: We have several ports along the River Nile, but the National and State governments have not given attention to them. Access to commercial goods is made with many difficulties. Tayar, Monydeng and Bar-Kach among other ports could be improved to open ways for local market goods to be moved to the market, and for market goods to find their way to our populations with ease. Our people travel between 6-18 hrs on local canoes to bring commercial goods to our communities. Without roads, the river ports could prove useful for Nyuong to generate income, create jobs and benefit from the River Nile transport and trade. No one gives a ear to this. Only a stand alone Nyuong leadership not distracted by forces of envy and jealousies can ensure this happens.
Taxed and Fined But No Services.
- We are taxed and fined exorbitantly by the state government. We expect something in return. Nyuong must learn that a government is not an entity that takes from the governed and does not give back. Of recent, resources from our taxes, fines and local commodities have ended in the pockets of individuals for their self-enrichment. There is a lot of money collected through the fines or cattle raids, revenge court cases, marriages, and crimes. There is also a lot of money collected in the market centers at Nyal and Ganyliel. We could use this money locally to offset some of the financial and resource gaps we have. Only us can take off the hands of exploiters from our resources.
- The Tayar, Monydeng and other River Nile based markets see canoes, engine boats, fish ice machines, and dry fish, cattle sells and many other market endeavors bring a lot of resources to Panyijiar County and the state. Yet our conditions remain very dire. We live in abject conditions. Something must change.
Our Security Is Neglected;
- The state government doesn’t prioritize our security. There was less state police and organized forces deployment in our community. We rely or retired sons and daughters, wounded heroes/heroines to protect us in addition to our armed youth. We become vulnerable and susceptive to attacks by our neighbors. When our youth raid cattle, we are forced to collect them and to hand them back to the owners. When our cattle got raided, our state government kept quiet. Our neighbors got away with our cattle. Most often, our security or insecurity situations do not even receive national or state media attention. Time is ripped for Nyuong to recruit their sons and daughters locally, to train them in order to make up an organized force for the homeland protection and the safeguards of our interests and of our relationships with neighbors.
- Our homeland is often flooded, but the state government never took an initiative to help construct water d***s that could alleviate us from constant destruction by floods. We have become food and physically insecure as a result. The state government has resources, including oil money, as well the ones taken from Nyuong in various forms. This money could be used to give us protection from the human insecurity caused by flooding. Yet, because of the condescending view of the Nyuong community by our political and military elites in Unity State, we are neglected. It make sense to no longer give our resources to any entity that will not use it to change our dire conditions. We can retain our resources to improve our conditions from the floods and its related effects.
- Our people and resources that perished in the river Nile due to the insecurity posed by criminals are not followed through by the state. Our people die without accountability from those who killed them. Our resources perished without compensation due to lack of weight and power pushing the culprits and perpetrators to account. Nyuong would be better placed to take up this responsibility and to directly tackle these matters, and to pursue them with those able to help us improve the conditions of travel along the River Nile. Our Relationship With Neighbors Is Ignored
- The state government in Bentiu gives much attention to the issues of Ruweng with Jikany and Leek, and between the Bul-Nuer with Warrap Dinka. This is because the leaders of Northern Unity want to improve not only their relationship with their neighboring Dinka communities, but to cement their relationships with political and military elites of their neighbors. They ignore our case with our neighbors. Nyuong has neighbors both on the east and west of the River Nile. By ignoring our relationship with our neighbors, we remain vulnerable to our neighborhoods and in turn unfriendly relationship with political and military elites from the communities that neighbor us. This compounds on our state of isolation and marginalization. Nyuong would be better in relating well with its neighbors and to have political allies among the elites of our neighboring communities. The political power-houses and machinations in Bentiu will never do this for us. Nyuong need to take this up.
- The roads leading the northern Unity State o their neighbors remain opened and maintained, as well secured for unhindered economic activities. We have 6 counties neighboring Nyuong on the west of the Nile and 3 to the east of the Nile. This is more than any other county in Unity State. If Nyuong was connected by roads to its neighboring communities, it will be better placed economically and politically than any other county/community in Unity State. Yet, it is clear that can’t be done through Bentiu. Nyuong need to think about alternative ways of doing this.
Our Health Facilities Remain Far Worse
- The Government of Southern Sudan (GOSS), constructed a Hospital at Panyijiar County HQs using the Community Development Funds (CDF) in 2009, but the Hospital has never seen operations. It is a blue building, but what make s a Hospital is not a blue building but services that accompany it. This staff, experts, medicine and equipment. Worse of all, the health training center imaginary hospital has no which used to train our youth in community health and clinical works was taken away from us in 2011, by the National Ministry of Health. Our youth finds such training opportunities with difficulty in the State and National levels. Our people have to travel in risky River Nile route to Juba where they have to live and cope with expensive city situation, many times consuming for food, housing and transportation the very amount of resources meant to give them treatment.
Let's educate our people, share this wider.
