Citizens should Refrain from talking on river dredging –says South Sudan’s government
By Awan Achiek
The transitional unity government has urged citizens opposing the river dredging along the Nile River in Unity State to end inciting negative sentiments.
Michael Makuei Lueth, the Minister of Information revealed that cabinet has observed negative sentiments about dredging in Unity State.
“The public is just overreacting on issues which are not clear to them, so the people are advised to refrain from jumping into the unknown,” Makuei told journalists after the weekly cabinet meeting in Juba on Friday.
Makuei advised the citizens not to misuse social media and refrain from unreliable information about the dredging of rivers.
“People are advised to avoid the use of social media under these circumstances meanwhile they (people) are not properly informed,” he said.
“People are advised to refrain from all these and should all the time approach issues from an informed position and not to abuse social media,” Makuei added.
Experts from the United Kingdom, U.S and Canada will arrive in the country on 13th July to analyze activities along the Nile River.
“Let them (experts) wait, if they want to pass their judgment they should first hear from the host’s mouth, from the experts so that when you talk, you talk from an informed position,” Makuei disclosed.
Equipment being used for dredging activities arrived in June from Egypt, thus sparking fears and anxiety among the public.
A group of lawyers lodged legal complaint against the government at the East African Court of Justice (EACJ) over what they called illegal dredging activities along the Nile River that could have worse environmental effects on the population.
But residents of Unity State welcomed the decision, saying the project will rescue them from seasonal flooding that have displaced more than half of the state’s population and killed hundreds since last year.
