Some residents of Yei River County in Central Equatoria State affected by the construction of the Aggrey Jaden Highway from Juba to Kaya are calling on the state authorities to compensate them.
The clearing and expansion of the road has begun with many structures on the way brought down.
Residents who spoke to Radio Tamazuj say the government should allocate lands in other areas where they can rebuild their homes and shops.
Joseph Ladu, a returnee in Yei River County says their makeshift homes have been destroyed and they have no place to call home.
“We know that the road construction is a development to the nation but we as returnees, we don’t have anything that we can help ourselves with. That’s why we have tried with all the sufferings, to cut grass to build. Now the road has affected us, what will the government do for us? Let them help us with buying grass and carpets, to begin with, we are suffering,” Ladu lamented.
Moris Data, a 27-year-old shop owner is calling on the government to compensate them so that they can rebuild their family businesses handed down to them by their fathers.
“The construction of the road has come as a good thing but it has affected us negatively in such a way that our shops along the roadside have been destroyed,” he explained. “These are things left to us by our fathers. Now that they are destroyed, we cannot get anything. Let the government find us a place where we can construct our shops so that we can sustain ourselves.”
Meanwhile, the commissioner of Yei River County, Hon. Aggrey Cyrus Kanyikwa assured citizens those affected that they will be compensated.
“From the time we started the initial meetings, it was made clear that buildings are going to be compensated. Whoever has a building, is going to be registered and then there will be mechanisms of how to compensate them in the near future, so there should be no any worry about the buildings,” Aggrey said.
He adds, “The only problem we have are the trees because there are so many trees and they are going to be expensive. We are looking for alternatives of how we can compensate the owners of the trees on the roads and that’s the only thing we are still working on but buildings shall be compensated surely.”
The construction of the Aggrey Jaden highway from Juba to Kaya is one of the projects that the state government approved last year.