Twenty tractors donated by President Salva Kiir were received by the Maridi government on Friday after their arrival from Juba. The tractors are part of a group of 1000 bought by Kiir last year.
Maridi State Governor Africano Mande during a rally organized in Maridi bus park on Friday thanked the national government and the president for their contribution to ensure food security in the state, saying the donation would help not only Maridi State but for all of the country’s states.
“The people of Maridi are ready. They are ready to embark on agricultural production and they are ready to embark on ensuring that the food security that the president has been talking about is ensured,” he said.
The governor thanked President Kiir “for this great gift,” offering also his assurance that the people of Maridi will work tirelessly toward ensuring food security.
He also thanked the leadership of the military for giving orders to the drivers to bring the tractors from Juba to Maridi. The governor further explained that the state government will be responsible for the distribution of the 20 tractors to farmers’ groups and cooperatives in the state.
The rally brought together all heads of departments, chiefs, elders, women and youths to witness the handover of the 20 tractors.
Also this week, 23 tractors donated by President Kiir arrived in Western Bahr el Ghazal State. The minister of agriculture in Wau, Santino Uyu Madai, said twenty of the tractors will go to his ministry, two to the University of Western Bahr el Ghazal, and one to the Agricultural Research Center.
Kiir first announced the purchase of 1000 tractors in a speech on 18 March 2015 during a rally in the capital Juba. State media described them as a ‘donation,’ though official were later unclear as to how they were paid for.
Read Radio Tamazuj’s comprehensive coverage of Kiir’s tractor deal here.