A two-day county commissioners forum that discussed floods, resource mobilization, and unemployment as key challenges facing communities concluded Sunday in South Sudan’s Northern Bahr el Ghazal State.

The forum was organized with support from the UN office in the state. 

The team leader for the UN Civil Affairs Division in Northern Bahr el Ghazal State, Maria Inecita Montero, said the forum was to discuss, prioritize and seek amicable solutions to challenges facing the people there.  

“This workshop was designed as a platform where county commissioners will come together to discuss the counties’ priorities, identify the challenges and see how best they can address the challenges,” she said.  

"So this is a way of inviting everyone to work together so that peace and development plans of the county and municipality will not only be one-sidedly done by local authorities by themselves, but it has to have a contribution from local communities.”

Aweil South County Commissioner, Luka Thel Thel, told Radio Tamazuj during the closing ceremony that many parts of the state are now affected by floods which have displaced thousands, and destroyed homes and livelihoods. 

“Now the major challenge in Northern Bahr el Ghazal is flooding because it has affected the entire State, not only a particular county. The floods affected the communities in terms of collapsing boreholes, houses, schools, and primary healthcare centers,” said Thel.

He urged for humanitarian support to the affected communities and long-term solutions to flooding in the area.

Peter Majok Deng, also a participant, said he has learned leadership skills, especially in strategic planning.  

“In this two-day workshop, I learned leadership of local government and development of strategic planning which will help us to plan about development because we have resources from payam level up to county headquarters, local government headquarters. We must manage the resources to develop the counties, that is what I learned,” said Majok.

Over 50 county commissioners, mayors, executive directors, chiefs, legal affairs, youth, and women attended the forum.