The Government of South Sudan and the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) on Wednesday inaugurated the new South Sudan Relief and Rehabilitation Commission (SSRRC) office in Torit in Eastern Equatoria State.
The construction of the structure started in January and was completed in June. The function was attended by UNHCR’s Assistant High Commissioner for Operations who is based in Geneva, Switzerland, UNHCR staff from Juba, government officials, and donor representatives.
According to UNHCR, Eastern Equatoria State is a high returnee area.
Dr. Manase Lomole, the chairperson of the SSRRC, lauded UNHCR for constructing the facility under its Pocket of Hope project.
“Torit is a historical town and the struggle for the freedom of our people started here. Now the reconstruction process using the Pockets of Hope initiated by UNHCR is also starting here,” he said. “Torit is a cradle of success for almost everything and therefore we must be very grateful to the governor for sustaining peace in this part of our country. We are grateful to all our donors and UNHCR for this great initiative.”
Meanwhile, Raouf Mazou, the Assistant High Commissioner for Operations at UNHCR, said the office will help coordinate issues of returnees and the displaced population
“In Torit, we have seen one of the largest numbers of people who come back simultaneously and their return is one of the most important activities. It is one of the clearest indications that things are getting better that things are improving,” he said. “We estimate that about 600,000 people have returned in the past few years and here in the state, we believe that more than 100,000 people have returned.”
According to Mazouu, the SSRRC office in Torit will help coordinate all the efforts including identifying returnees and ensuring that they have access to social services and livelihood activities.
On his part, Governor Louis Lobong Lojore thanked UNHCR and other development agencies for their collaboration in supporting the returning population.
“I would like to thank and appreciate the people of Eastern Equatoria for creating a conducive environment for our development partners to come and operate,” he said. “I thank UNHCR for this capacity building-this is the reality of capacity building-and for building an office for SSRRC here in the state. The office will coordinate the return of our people and I appeal to other partners to do a similar thing.”
The Eastern Equatoria State SSRRC chairperson, Augustine Okuma, said the new office structure will now accommodate all the commission’s staff and host coordination meetings.
“This building is going to help our work in the state. All this time we have been holding our coordination meetings at the Norwegian Church Aid (NCA) premises because we did not have a facility,” he said. “So, this office is going to accommodate all the humanitarian coordination meetings and there is also sufficient office space and solar power.”
The new office structure has eight offices and a meeting hall.