Governor Lobong cautions CSOs on dependence on foreign funding

The Governor of Eastern Equatoria State Louis Lobong lojore has cautioned civil society organizations to reduce over dependence on international organizations for funding.

“I know all of us sometimes know our roles, but sometimes we are bogged down by the constraints of resources. Civil society are supposed to speak freely without fear or favor but we know some of you cannot criticize United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) because UNMISS is supporting you,” Lobong said.

He was speaking while closing the two- day training for CSOs in Torit on Wednesday.

Lobong called on civil society to continue rendering their service without fear or favor in order to move the state’s development forward.

Tahir Cevik, the Civil Affairs team leader in the UNMISS Torit Field Office advised civil society to embark on implementing the peace agreement by disseminating it to  the people at the grass roots.

 “We need the civil society in helping us in this period to address inter-communal conflict, so without you we cannot achieve the mission’s objectives,”Cevik said.

The chairperson for civil society organizations network for Eastern Equatoria State, Charles Onen Lukwaruk said they have benefited from the training tremendously.

He urged the government to provide enough security to allow them reach the population.

“One of the challenges we face is insecurity, we need improved security so that we have an environment to engage with the civil population for the good of their rights,” Onen said