January 25th 2020 (Nyamilepedia) – South Sudan state government officials allied to First Vice President Taban Deng Gai are accused of involvement in land dispute between Northern Liech and Ruweng states.
Doctor Chuotyier, the political advisor to Northern Liech state governor and SPLM secretary general in the state said in an interview with Nyamilepedia on Friday that there were no land disputes with Ruweng but politicians there allied to First Vice President Taban were using land claims to support their campaign for gubernatorial positions.
He said the officials – which he did named – came with Taban when he joined the government of President Salva Kiir in 2016 and was the person who recommended that they are appointed as governors.
“According to my understanding there are no disputed areas between the two states because each community knows where they were before the 32 states were declared, but some politicians want to create disputes for their own interests,” he said in the interview.
“Specially, the previous Governors of Ruweng who came with [First Vice President] Gen. Taban Deng Gai from the rebellion and were recommended by Taban to be Governors in Ruweng state such as Maulana Thieji and Ustaz Them de’Machar,” he added.
“For them to get back the support of the people of Ruweng they have to claim the ownership of some areas belonging to Northern Liech and it has become a way of campaigning for those seeking to be governors in Ruweng state and that is why it that precedent was followed by Lourance Mabuok and others.
“But to my own understanding the Revitalized peace agreement set a mechanism to resolve the issues to with land disputes, there are two institutions established by the agreement, the TBC [Technical Boundaries Committee] and the IBC [Independent Boundaries Commission].
“These institutions are responsible to go and ask the people of South Sudan in all levels particularly the grassroots. These would be the ordinary people living in those areas and not the politicians about the disputed lands.”
