Some citizens of Western Bahr el Ghazal State have called on the newly appointed legislators to focus on service delivery rather than politics.
The calls came were made on Tuesday as the 92 members of the state parliament took their oath of office.
Speaking to Radio Tamazuj some citizens said the MPs should not only work for the interests of their political parties that nominated them but also for the people.
Anthony Zackaria Lual says the people need services.
“My message to these members of the assembly of Western Bahr el Ghazal state is that they come from many different political parties and they have come with one motto to deliver services to the people of Western Bahr el Ghazal state,” said Lual. “Let them forget their political background and understand that the civilians of Western Bahr el Ghazal State need services and these services reach the civilians through them because they are the voice and the community.”
Lual advised the leaders to listen to the issues of the people and be a bridge with the government to ensure service delivery.
Another citizen Hanada Abdaraman Jaladin said they have huge expectations from the new MPs.
“We are citizens, we need the MPs to see its job not just to consider their parties, let them focus on their work. They have come to represent the community and let them send a message that the citizens will understand what is happening in the country,” she said.
Meanwhile, the newly appointed state assembly speaker Hon. Muhamaden Abubakar Muhamaden said the MPs will immediately start working.
“We will not wait; we are going to start to respond to the public demands because it is now time for us to enter our offices and start the work,” Abubakar said.
For her part, Sarah Cleto Rial, the state governor, also called on the new MPs to disseminate the 2018 agreement for wider understanding.
“At this time, our mandate is to ensure that the peace agreement is implemented in letter and spirit and we have to uphold the responsibility that we have been given. We have to ensure that there is harmony among the different political parties,” said Cleto.
Cleto said the current government mandate is also to ensure that the peace agreement is implemented in letter and spirit.