Deng Chol Deng, Member of National Legislative Assembly, has criticised the method of distribution of the 1000 tractors brought to South Sudan by Salva Kiir to combat hunger.
Speaking on Tuesday in parliament, Chol said the tractors are supposed to be given to agricultural or cooperative banks rather than to the government.
“The executive branch last time formed a committee and has decided to distribute these 1000 tractors to all the government institutions where 60 per state, but this is not the best way for the distribution,” he said.
Chol said that no government institution is able to produce sufficient food for the country, and that they should be given to farmers instead.
“These 1000 tractors should be taken to the Agricultural Bank and the Bank should be the one concerned and can manage the facilitation to the farmers direct by giving them technical support,” he said. “How can the cabinet be responsible for this?…The only institution who knows that is the Agriculture bank, without Agriculture Bank we will fail.”
Makuei disagrees
During the sitting, Minister of Information Michael Makuei stood up and accused Chol of misleading the parliament with wrong information. He claimed that the tractors
“It is unfortunate that the honorable member is misleading the assembly,” Makuei said. “If he wanted to know he might ask the minister. It is not the minister who distributed but it is the cabinet that approved it.”
“It seemed that this honorable member is not informed as to how these tractors have been distributed and if he is well informed. The institutions which have received the tractors were the regular forces not universities but Faculties of Agriculture, and the rest are going to the states in the form of 60 per state, and this will go to the people in those states not the government institution.”
Radio Tamazuj Photo: Hon. Deng Chol Deng speaks to press after the sitting