Sarafino Vows to Transform the Face of Juba City
By Kidega Livingstone
Christopher Sarafino Wani Swaka, the newly appointed Mayor of Juba City Council, has pledged to transform Juba into a modern and well-managed city.
“We are going to make you proud. We will introduce reforms in revenue collection and waste management to ensure improved service delivery to the people,” Mayor Swaka said during his swearing-in ceremony on Monday.
He added, “I want to assure you that under the new leadership of the Juba City Council, we will tackle the challenges head-on so we can succeed in our duties. These are difficult times that require hard work and commitment to address the issues facing our city.”
Swaka was appointed last Friday by Central Equatoria State Governor Emmanuel Adil Anthony Mujung, who dismissed the former mayor and his two deputies in response to rising public frustration over the deteriorating state of services in the capital.
This marks Swaka’s return to the mayoral seat—he previously served under former Governor Clement Wani Konga and is remembered for introducing Juba’s first traffic lights in 2014.
In the same decree, Governor Mujung appointed Jennifer Yabu Lasuba as Deputy Mayor for Administration and Finance, Lual Joseph Deng as Deputy Mayor for Social Services, and Stephen Lomude Martin as Deputy Mayor for Environment and Waste Management.
Meanwhile, outgoing mayor Johnson Swaka Ngisak has been reassigned as a Senior Technical Advisor to the State Ministry of Local Government and Law Enforcement Agencies under Decree No. 04/2025.
During the swearing-in, Deputy Governor Paulino Lokudu Obede issued a strong directive to the new city leadership. He cautioned them against shutting down businesses due to non-payment of taxes, citing the economic hardships that residents are currently facing.
“You must stop closing shops because people don’t have money. Citizens are facing serious economic challenges,” he said. “And let me be clear—taxes should not be collected for personal gain. Collect taxes for the purpose of improving services and delivering them back to the people of Juba.”
