The Government of Japan on Friday handed over 17 trucks and two containers for waste management in both Juba City and the county.
The donation was made through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
Speaking during the handover ceremony, JICA South Sudan Chief Representative Tanaka Hiroyuki, said solid waste management in Juba City for the last few years has been a serious challenge, putting the health of the residents at risk.
He said the lack of sufficient vehicles and equipment for waste collection and proper disposal has been a challenge that has led to the deteriorated situation.
“To help address this, JICA has built a new workshop for the proper maintenance of waste collection vehicles and is providing a total of 20 compactors, 5 dump trucks, 10 container carriers and 29 containers, 1 bulldozer, backhoe loader and maintenance equipment,” he said.
Hiroyuki said that while sufficient vehicles and equipment were a necessity for proper solid waste management, sound financial management, sufficient human resource capacity and maintenance of the vehicles and equipment underpinned their successful usage.
“Therefore, I urge the Juba City Council to ensure the effective usage and proper maintenance of these vehicles, including securing the human resources, the allocation of financial resources and the proper management of these financial resources,” Hiroyuki added.
The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to South Sudan, Odagiri Toshio, said Juba City was challenged by economic growth as it expands.
“Juba City is undergoing urbanization due to rapid economic growth and population increase in recent years and there is an emerging need to manage and solve the problem associated with proper disposal of waste. The establishment of an appropriate waste collection system will greatly contribute to the public health of Juba city by preventing the spread of diseases,” he said.
“Japan has been supporting South Sudan since independence by strengthening the capacity of Juba City with a sustainable waste management system and we are happy to support the government and people of South Sudan in achieving this important goal,” Toshio said.
Juba Mayor Johnson Swaka said receiving the vehicles comes with the challenge of maintaining them and pledged to keep the machines running to keep the city clean.
“These vehicles are a challenge to the administration of Juba City as well as to the government of Central Equatoria State, because it is not easy to run them. We have to work hard to keep them well maintained and their role in Juba City,” he said.
Swaka pledged to keep the trucks running and called on other partners to help rehabilitate and maintain roads to help the door-to-door collection of garbage.