The Eastern Equatoria State governor, Louis Lobong, revealed that the Kuron Peace Village which was established by Bishop Emeritus Paride Taban has no presence of security forces and that the people there live and co-exist peacefully, a practice he said other communities in the country must embrace.
The governor recently visited the Kuron area to launch the MTN telecommunications network. Radio Tamazuj sounded him out in an exclusive interview on a broad range of issues. Below are edited excerpts:
Q: We heard that Kapoeta East has for the first time been connected to a telephone network, can you confirm this?
A: It is the MTN telecommunication that has been installed in Kuron village for the first time. The village is located between Boma and Narus. This is the first of its kind in the area since the creation of the earth and this is the first time people of the area can communicate through the phone.
Q: What does that mean to the local population in the village?
A: The people are very excited and some communicate with their family members or friends in Kapoeta, Juba, or Kenya. This is a great development and it will help the local communities in maintaining security. Now, if there is any security incident, they will immediately communicate and a quick response will be done. This area has been experiencing child abduction practices by our neighboring Murle for years. So, if there is such an incident, the network would help them report to the authorities in the area and intervention will be done.
Q: If this is the first of its kind in the area, do the people there have roads to other services?
A: Some roads were established by the SPLM/A during the civil war that connects Koron to Narus to Tangusa and from Kuron up to Boma. After the CPA, other roads were also constructed from Narus to Kuron. The Catholic Bishop (Emeritus) Paride Taban also established several facilities such as schools, Churches, youth training centers and named the place Kuron Peace Village. So the village became famous as the peace village.
Q: Is this your first time visiting the area as the governor?
A: No, no. Since the period of the civil war, I have been moving around in those areas. I told the local communities on that day that we had been there alongside the late Dr. John Garang during a big celebration and he addressed the people in Kuron village at that time. He told them many things. So during my visit recently, I reminded them about the speech given by Dr. Garang in the same place. He told them that the SPLA was fighting to liberate the country and our policy was to take the town to the people and that when the war ended, this village will become a town and there is no need for you people to go to Kapoeta looking for services.
This vision has become a reality and is being implemented by President Salva Kiir.
Q: Can you tell us about the health situation in the village?
A: Yes, there is a small health center in the area compared to the huge population. It doesn’t treat major health complications but it is better than nothing. Now, there is a primary school and this year they have opened a secondary school. There is an airstrip and now we have a telecommunications network. Some roads can link to other nearby villages and towns. Those services used not to exist some years back.
Q: During your interactions with the local population there, what are some of the challenges they face?
A: They expressed a lot of concerns regarding the health of their cattle. Some say they keep on losing cattle to diseases that they don’t know up to now. I reported this case to the state Minister of Animal Resources and fortunately enough, the National Minister of Animal Resources and Fisheries is on a visit to Torit soon. I also raised this concern to him. This problem is not only in Kuron village but affects many areas of the Toposa people.
Secondly, they raised concerns over the continuous child abduction practices by the neighboring Murle people. The third challenge is the poor harvest this year which might cause some food shortages in the coming months.
Q: We heard some unconfirmed reports that the locals there are using the Ethiopian currency and the South Sudanese as well. How true is this?
A: Yes. Some people travel to Ethiopia and they need to make purchases using Ethiopian currency. Some traders own shops in the area and they normally bring commodities from Kapoeta, Juba or others can bring goods from neighboring Kenya.
Q: Have you planned to undertake any developmental projects in the area as a government?
A: In the first place the village is divided by streams, and during the rainy season it is difficult for people to cross. A bridge was built after the CPA. A primary school was established, as well as a hospital, technical school, secondary school, and now there is a mobile network. All these are developments.
Q: Are there enough teachers in that school?
A: Yes there are teachers even though they are not enough, but the few are managing.
Q: How is the security situation in the Kuron area?
A: There is no single government security presence in the area. It is the local people that keep their safety and security through community policing.
Q: Do you have any intentions of deploying a police force in the area?
A: Yeah I could do so but sometimes it is even better when these people stay alone without any police. If local people can keep their security and keep order, there is no need to take police there.
Q: What is your final message to your people in Eastern Equatoria and entire South Sudan?
A: I was criticized by many people when they saw me on social media holding guns and engaging in arresting criminals in the village. Some even went further and asked why I should tie people with ropes. So, I want to tell these people that sometimes, as a responsible person, you need to take risks and get involved in some actions by yourself.
The area I went to is my village, where I was born, and some criminals committed crimes in the area and I decided to go and search for them by myself and I brought them before the law.
Secondly, what I want to tell everyone is that our people are tired of war and it is now time for peace. The government signed a peace agreement with all the opposition so let us all stand beside the government and allow them to fully implement the peace.
We should all take the exemplary situation of the Kuron Peace Village of promoting community policing. We should encourage ourselves to keep security for our locals. Let us learn and adopt this example all over. I need all citizens in Eastern Equatoria and all over South Sudan to adopt this example. People are tired of fighting. Let's all work together and arrest criminals who want to spoil peace so that we can rest and get development into our areas.