Editorial: Consider equitable distribution of infrastructure development beyond Juba
On Wednesday President Salva Kiir commissioned the Haboba and Luri bridges for public use just barely one month after the opening of the country’s largest Freedom Bridge across the River Nile.
In his statement during the commission of the Luri bridge, Kiir said the inauguration of bridges was not co-incident.
“It came from the government’s liberation policy to prioritise infrastructural development,” he said.
He added that the opening of these two bridges has helped the government in its development efforts and improved the country’s work on regional integration and peace consolidation.
The inauguration of three bridges in one month is a tremendous job that needs to be acknowledged by the citizens. This is important because they have facilitated the movement of goods and people. The bridge plays a significant role in human co-existence because it links the two separate areas together.
Without a bridge, one cannot cross from one area to the other, especially when the two areas are separated by a body of water like the River Nile.
Since the signing of the revitalised peace agreement in September 2018, Juba, in particular, has been witnessing significant infrastructural development, though on a small scale. They are equally important because any growth begins with a step.
Also, in the private sector, there is a steady growth in the hotel industry as more five-star hotels are on the rise in Juba.
However, there is a great need to have regional balancing in the development strategy because Juba is not the only part of South Sudan. While we continue to witness more development in Juba, other states’ capitals are dusty and resemble kraals. If you have never visited areas outside Juba you might believe that the little development you see in Juba is also in the States. But this is contrary to the law in the states.
Therefore, we need regional balancing in terms of development. We need development in the Upper and Bahr el-Ghazal and Equatoria regions. The concentration of development in one particular region will likely lead to a negative impact in the future as most citizens will be forced to relocate to a better developed region for a better life. People will be looking for towns instead of taking towns to them.
We have experienced the impact of regional imbalance development during the old Sudan that kept the then southern Sudan in a big forest despite the many years of Sudan’s independence.
