The minister for road and bridges in Western Bahr el Ghazal State has clarified that the construction of 60 kilometers of internal roads in Wau has been interrupted by the prevailing economic hardships in the country.
In March 2023, President Salva Kiir Mayardit, during a rally in Wau as part of his Greater Bahr el Ghazal Region tour to seek endorsement as the SOLM Party presidential candidate, directed the national ministry of roads and bridges to tarmac internal roads in the Western Bahr el Ghazal State capital, Wau.
In May, a South Sudanese road construction firm, Africa Resources Corporation (ARC), started leveling roads in the town in preparation to lay tarmac, however works stalled.
On Friday, Western Bahr el Ghazal State Minister of Roads and Bridges Julius Bensensio told Radio Tamazuj that the road works stopped due to lack of funds occasioned by the economic hardships across the country.
“As you all know, the country has been going through economic hardships. Mine months ago money was supposed to be paid to restart the project but as you know the problem of high inflation and the expensive U.S. dollar hit the country and everything became hard,” he explained. “The problem is not made by us but it is something well known for a long period. The oil flow to the international market was also stopped due to the war in Sudan and this affected our programs that the government was working on not only here in the state but across the country as a whole.”
Minister Bensensio however revealed that roads connecting the counties which were in bad condition are currently being rehabilitated by a national company, Africa Kongday.
“Last week, I visited the road linking Wau to Awiel and there is a company called Africa Kongday working there,” he stated. “We visited them because there was a problem along the Udici-Gette section where more than 35 trucks were stranded. However, after meeting the company officials, we managed to address the problem.”