Juba, South Sudan
On 07/06, Vice Chancellor of University of Juba posted a statement on his Facebook page purporting that the proposed dredging of river Naam is being sponsored by IOM with $120 million.
While I agree with the writings of Prof John A Akec on his Facebook wall that “Water is more valuable than oil…. diamonds and gold…”, I do not agree to one of his posts that “…IOM is funding the dredging of Naam River to the tune of $120 Million.”
I would like to share with the general public that IOM has been identified as one of the UN agencies to implement the second phase of Enhancing Community Resilience and Local Government Project (ECRP-II) Phase II.
This project is financed by the World Bank and is to be implemented by both the Ministries of Finance and Local Government Board. Under the supervision of the government (including institutions such as Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation, Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, Refugee Commission, South Sudan Relief and Rehabilitation Commission…etc), IOM has been identified as a third party to implement this project. The projects components include the following and I quote:
“The overall project objective is to improve access to services, reduce flood risks, and enhance institutional capacity for local service delivery and integrated disaster risk management at the national, subnational and local levels.
Component 1 will develop infrastructure enhancing public services in local communities in accordance with local priorities. Potential areas of investment will include water supply and sanitation facilities, footpaths and community roads, dykes for flood protection, health and education facilities, among others, to ensure maximum community benefit, including for refugee communities. Component 1 will also include a disaster risk reduction (DRR) subcomponent which is intended to respond to extreme flooding through the construction of infrastructure that can prevent and mitigate the consequences of flood, such as levees and dykes.
The implementation of community-led O&M interventions using hybrid O&M approaches based on the types of infrastructure built under the project, including flood-related infrastructure, as well as on the local contexts will increase the likelihood of the sustainability of infrastructure sub projects.
Component 2 will support community-led participatory planning processes, through which infrastructure sub-projects will be identified. Component 2 will involve capacity building for, and institutional strengthening of, county, state and relevant entities in national government by providing them training and resources that will allow them to better support the implementation, operations and maintenance of subprojects.
Finally, Component 2 will incorporate critical interventions that target women, persons with disabilities, youth and other marginalized or disadvantaged groups to ensure inclusivity and their meaningful participation in community development processes. Sensitivities related to gender and conflict will be mainstreamed throughout all ECRP-II activities in line with “do no harm” humanitarian and development principles.
Regular conflict analyses will inform activities tailored to help local communities become more resilient as they contend with future shocks connected to violence, displacement and natural disasters.” From the above submission, there is no mention of the phrase “dredging of Naam River…”. For every project there is an element of feasibility study and environmental impact assessment studies. It is within the scope of this ESIA that we shall commission these studies to understand the causes of flooding in the area and what are the necessary courses of action to undertake in order to safeguard communities from the adverse effects of flooding.
University of Juba is one of the highest institutions of learning and research in the country. It is hoped that at one point, if they have the capacity and potential to do national research into actual causes and impacts of flooding, they could be the ones to undertake these initiatives but it is very unfortunate that the dean of the institution has become political activist.
~Gattiek Wichar,
Press-Secretary at Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation, RSS, JUBA and he can be reached via gattiekwichar@gmail.com
