Uproar over Juba mayor’s sacking

Some members of the public have criticised the dismissal of the Mayor of Juba City Council Kalisto Lado, who was appointed by the governor of Central Equatoria State Emmanuel Adil Anthony in March 2021.

Adil relieved Lado in a gubernatorial degree on Thursday evening after serving at the helm Juba City Council for nine months. His dismissal triggered public fury especially from people who believed that the mayor was the part fit as a fiddle for the job.

One protestor hit the streets of Juba waving a placard calling for the reinstatement of the mayor.

Meanwhile, some of the members of the public who spoke to The City Review made a similar call to the state governor to reinstate the mayor back to his position, citing his impressive track record.

 Neimma Kaku, a local trader who sells water at the Custom market said she is not happy about the dismissal of the mayor. Kaku said the whole of Juba would be organised if Kalisto was given more time to do his work as a mayor of the city.

“I am not happy at all because the mayor was doing a good job now the roads are good, places are organized. Let the governor reinstate him so that he continues with his work because he is doing the right thing,” Kaku commended.

Kaku said she does not understand why the government is always removing hardworking leaders.

“He wanted the roads and organised the city, the roads and other things like in the residential areas. If the mayor was to continue working, Juba would be organised 100 per cent,” said Kaku.

Although she was affected by the demolitions of structures erected on the road reserves, Kaku said she understood the logic behind it.

“We were patiently waiting that maybe one day he might say let the city council allocate for us a place where they can do their businesses, although his work had some impact on our business because the decision comes slowly,” she said.

Another trader at the custom market, Mabor Mayen, whose shop was demolished by the city council swallowed his sorrows but lauded the work of Mr Lado. He said he struggled to understand why he was dismissed after setting good precedence by restructuring the city.

“I don’t know [why] in South Sudan a person who is doing the right thing is not wanted. In my opinion, this person did a very good job and was he to continue working like that, he would have changed the development of this country,” he said.