36 delegates from four counties of Eastern Equatoria were selected to attend a three-day regional dialogue conference for Greater Equatoria region in Juba.

The regional dialogue conference for Greater Equatoria region is expected to take place in July.

Emmanuel Lolimo, a member of Eastern Equatoria sub-region committee for the national dialogue, told Radio Tamazuj on Wednesday that the selection process was based on a criterion set by the national dialogue.

He said those selected included women, youth, chiefs, organized forces and farmers, among others.

Lolimo said a similar conference is due to take place in Kapoeta State next week.

 “We know South Sudan has a problem. We all understood the crisis that we made for ourselves. Coming to Eastern Equatoria was to get these delegates to go and give their views on what they think is good for this country. What they think is good for Equatoria region, talk issues of national importance and then by the weekend, we will go to Kapoeta and carryout the same activity next week,” he said.

Alphonse Muras Chacha who spoke on behalf of the delegates said the selection process was transparently conducted from all counties.

Chacha, a delegate from Ikwoto County, said that those selected will present peoples’ view during the regional conference.

“We selected 36 delegates from our communities to go to Juba. Nine delegates were selected from each of the four former counties of the Greater Ikwoto, Torit, Greater Lopa/Lafon and the Greater Magwi, making a total of 36. Tasks were given to each of the delegates,” he said.

Chacha urged citizens to remain united for the good of the country.

For his part, however, the chairperson for Eastern Equatoria sub-committee for grassroots consultations, Nartisio Loluke Manir, said the selection process was based on inclusivity from all levels of government.

“During the consultations, nobody dictated anything. We were just giving guidance to fulfill the criteria because if you don’t fulfill the criteria, then we say there is something missing. One of the key things is inclusivity. When we talk of Eastern Equatoria, we talk of all the people who belong to this state. We have the three levels of government; local, state and national government,” said Loluke.

He added, “And in all these levels, we have representatives and it is the duty of the people to select anybody and we want inclusivity.”

Meanwhile, the governor of Torit State, Tobiolo Alberio Oromo urged the delegates to put national interests above all the other agendas.

He called on them to speak the truth about actual needs of the people.

“This is a national duty. It is beyond everything and we must put national issues first and then our personalities become secondary. We have to be truthful in nation building for us to bring peace and harmony to the Republic of South Sudan,” said Oromo.

“Something that I have realized in our country at all levels of leadership is hypocrisy. Hypocrisy is what is killing us. We talk this tomorrow and find that we are doing contrary to what we have said yesterday. This this is what is killing us in South Sudan,” he added.

In December 2016, South Sudan President Salva Kiir launched the national dialogue initiative that seeks to reconcile and unite the East African nation torn apart by more than five years of civil war.