A South Sudan civil society activist in Yei River state is appealing to local authorities to promote community policing in an effort to restore trust, confidence and promote peaceful co-existence among communities of Yei.

Justoson Victor Yuasa, the executive director of the People’s Empowerment Center (PEC), a local NGO told Radio Tamazuj on Tuesday the role of the local authorities is crucial in peace and reconciliation.

He said the local authorities are best placed to disseminate the revitalized peace deal.

“The role of the local chiefs should not be undermined in maintaining peace and security because they are the watchdogs in the areas and they understand the peace agreement and then they will help provide information to the government,” he said.

Victor noted that chiefs are also important in reporting issues affecting the people to the government as well as provide recommendations.

For her part, Huda Michael Laila, the Yei River state minister for local government and law enforcement further called on community leaders and civil society actors to play an active role in monitoring and disseminating the peace agreement.

Huda appealed to the local chiefs to promote peace and report issues threatening peace and security at the community level.

“What is required from us is the ownership of the revitalized peace agreement, and inform us on what is affecting the people at the grass root level because we don’t have eyes to know what is going wrong at the community level,” she said.

Last week, the PEC organized a two-day civic engagement constituency dialogue for community chiefs, civil society actors, women, youth, local government officials and the army focused on how best to maintain peace and security in the area. It was sponsored by the Ugandan based NGO Konrad Adenauer Stiftung.