South Sudan’s national government took over responsibility for construction and maintenance of some internal roads in Central Equatoria without involving the state government, including roads built by ABMC construction company, according to a state official.
The country’s transitional constitution says public transport and roads within each state are the exclusive responsibility of the states, while international roads and roads between states should be handled by the national government.
In an interview, a senior official in the government of Central Equatoria State complained that the national government contracted the ABMC Thai South Sudan Construction Company to build a road from Juba to Gudele within the state’s territory but never handed over responsibility for the road to the state government after its completion.
The case raises questions about division of responsibilities between the national and state governments as well as transparancy and performance issues related to ABMC company. Radio Tamazuj previously reported that President Salva Kiir benefited from ABMC operations at his farm in Luri in Central Equatoria and had other ties to the company through close associates.
The national government paid ABMC at least $161 million for roads construction in the Juba area including the Gudele road, according to promotional materials published by the company in 2012.
The Central Equatoria state official complained that the ABMC-build road to Gudele was “not completed” owing to incompleted bridge work. “To assure you, this road up to today is not yet handed to the state government. It is still under the ABMC company, not yet handed. It is between the national government – the ministry of transport – and then the ABMC contractor,” said the senior Equatorian official.
“We don’t know the reason why this road is not completed – this small space. That is why during rainy season you find that many cars are overturning there, crashing,” he added, referring to the bridge on the way to Gudele.
Besides the ABMC-built roads within Juba, the national government has more recently also awarded contracts for feeder roads construction elsewhere in the state, according to the official. He described this as interference with a state competency: “Outside the town, these feeder roads: there are some [South Sudanese] contractors which are given assignment to go and do the job by the national government, which the work is supposed to be done by us, the state people.”
The official explained, “The national government is supposed to know that… they are to deal with the highways, but the feeder roads and the internal roads of the state are supposed to be done by the state engineers.”
Although the senior official did not speak on condition of anonymity, Radio Tamazuj is withholding his name out of concern for the safety of the journalist who interviewed him.
This report is published as part of a special investigative series. Anyone wanting to comment on this report or send further information should contact Radio Tamazuj here.