Security Fears Limit Community Participation in Yei County

(YEI RIVER COUNTY) – Road insecurity, poor telecommunications and reduced donor funding are disrupting peacebuilding and humanitarian operations across Yei River County, a leading national organisation has reported.

The Organization for Nonviolence and Development, known as ONAD, outlined the challenges during a courtesy visit to the newly appointed Commissioner of Yei River County, Samuel Henry Malimbo, on Thursday. The meeting was held in Yei.

ONAD management congratulated the commissioner on his appointment and commended his leadership and commitment to promoting stability and development in the county.

The organisation briefed the commissioner on its history, mandate and ongoing work in Yei River County and other parts of South Sudan.

ONAD was founded in 1994 by South Sudanese university students in Khartoum. It is a national non governmental organisation working to promote nonviolence, peacebuilding and democratic values through community based initiatives.

ONAD explained its key areas of work, which include nonviolence and peacebuilding, governance and civic education, trauma healing, psychosocial support, conflict prevention and mediation, and economic empowerment programmes targeting women and youth.

The organisation reported that it has trained traditional chiefs, local government administrators and community leaders on nonviolent conflict resolution. It has also facilitated inter community dialogues aimed at addressing disputes, including conflicts related to land.

ONAD further detailed achievements made through its work in Yei River County. These include strengthening the capacity of local peace committees to manage conflicts through dialogue and mediation, improving collaboration with local authorities and community leaders, and supporting grassroots peace initiatives.

The organisation then set out the main challenges affecting its operations in the county. Insecurity along roads remains a major obstacle. Telecommunications networks are poor in some payams. Bureaucratic delays occur in obtaining activity clearances. Donor funding has been reduced. Limited participation in some community engagements was also noted, due to security concerns.

Speaking during the meeting, Commissioner Malimbo reaffirmed the county government’s commitment to working closely with humanitarian and development partners operating in Yei River County:

“We stand with partners who are delivering essential services to the people of South Sudan and particularly to the people of Yei River County.” 

He encouraged ONAD and other non governmental organisations to continue sharing their organisational profiles and programme documents with county authorities. He said this would improve coordination and help the government better understand their activities and areas of work:

“We advise organisations to provide the government with copies of their profiles so that authorities can better understand the activities they are implementing and strengthen coordination efforts.” 

The ONAD delegation was led by Project Manager Lupayi James Seme. He confirmed the organisation’s commitment to supporting peacebuilding, social cohesion and community resilience initiatives in Yei River County and beyond.

A press release from the Office of the County Commissioner stated the meeting reflected ongoing efforts by local authorities and humanitarian organisations to strengthen partnerships, concluding that the cooperation aims to promote peace, reconciliation and sustainable development in communities affected by conflict and economic challenges across South Sudan.