Residents of Ayod County in Jonglei State have complained about the lack of access to clean drinking amidst a growing population as more people have started returning and resettling in their homes following the signing of the 2018 peace deal.
Speaking to Radio Tamazuj, several county residents decried the severe water shortage, saying they rely on water from the Jonglei canal for survival.
One resident, Nyibol Bol Both, said they rely on unprotected surface water for domestic use because the only two boreholes in the county are not sufficient for the needs of the entire population.
“There are only two boreholes in the county. They are not enough. We always quarrel at water points. So, we have to share water from the canal with the animals,” Nyibol lamented.
Mary Nyidieng Goi, another resident, said: “Our population has been increasing since the signing of peace. In the county, there used to be 47 boreholes, but only two are operational, the rest are broken. 25,000 people cannot be served by these two boreholes.”
Nyidieng, who serves as a women leader, said they suffer a lot from water shortage because they have to wait for days to get clean water from the boreholes.
“Our children are suffering. They are dying from diarrhea because sometimes we are left with no option but to get dirty surface water for consumption,” she said.
Another concerned local, Gabriel Tot, called on the government and aid agencies operating in the country to intervene by repairing the broken boreholes.
For his part, Ayod County Commissioner James Chuol Jiek said the county has seen a surge in waterborne diseases without healthcare services over the past years because of water shortage.
“The situation in Ayod is that there is a shortage of clean drinking water. For three years now we have had a water problem. We have only two boreholes, they are not enough and as a result, people fight while collecting water. People drink dirty water from the river. We have no NGOs here to help,” Chuol said.
The county official also called on the government to intervene, by drilling more boreholes and providing water treatment medicine for the local population.
Elijah Mabior Bol, the state housing, land, and public utilities minister, said: “As a government, it is our mandate to provide clean drinking water to our civil population. Ayod commissioner is just three weeks in his county so he has not yet reported. As soon as we receive a report, we will sit as a ministry and see what to do.”