The Government of Western Bahr el Ghazal State on Wednesday issued a local order suspending the ongoing illegal surveying, demarcation, and allotment of land at the Railway Station in Wau and along railway lines in the town.

Speaking to the press, the state’s information minister, Samuel Nicola, said the suspension will remain in effect until further notice. The state government also ordered security agencies to take measures against anyone found defying the orders.

“After a lot of deliberation and discussions, the council of ministers in its meeting on 21 March 2024 ordered the suspension of demarcations in Sika Hadid railway located in Block 25 until further notice,” he said. The Council also suspended the allotment of land in the railway station in Block 25, the same area. And number three, all security organs are directed to protect all the railway station properties.”

The Western Bahr el Ghazal state coordinator of the Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO), Stephen Robo Musa, welcomed the order.

“We welcome the order stopping land demarcation at the railway station and we look at this as a state position that protects public properties. Every time we see unlawful demarcation and allotments of land and it is good that the state government has stepped in to protect public land,” he stated. “We cannot allow widespread land grabbing and illegal allotment of public land by individuals and this is why as CEPO, we welcome the government order stopping the ongoing allotment. We are also calling for the implementation of the law that checks the use of public facilities for individual gain.”

Robo added: “The railway line is one of the important means of transport in the country and has to be protected because South Sudanese have been depending on air and road transport.”

Earlier in the month, the management of the railway station in Wau voiced concerns about the rampant construction of houses by known individuals along railway lines and at the Wau Railway Station.

The state’s Minister of Transport, Roads and Bridges, Julio Bensncio Mongo, confirmed the ongoing survey activity but denied his ministry’s involvement saying he informed National Transport Minister Madut Biar about the encroachment on railway land.