Mapping/Capacity Assessment of Local Organizations involved in Community Driven Development/Recovery (CDD/CDR) in Southern Sudan

Western Equatoria – Local Organizations Mapping/Capacity Assessment State Report – March, 2009

Prepared By: Hillary Taban Lohinei(report)

Alfred Oling (database)

Western Equatoria State borders Central Equatoria in the East, Western Bahr el Ghazal State in the north, and the Democratic Republic of Congo in the South. Recently the State was faced by influxes of Congolese refugees streaming into the State due to the insecurity caused by the Lord Resistance Army(LRA). The citizens of the state were not spared either, the marauding LRA soldiers looted and killed civilians in their villages forcing them to leave their villages and move to neighbouring towns in search of protection and shelter.

 

Western Equatoria State is rich agriculturally; most of the inhabitants rely on farming to sustain their livelihoods. Crops include cassava, maize, sorghum and groundnuts. A few livestock, mostly poultry and small ruminants, are kept on a small scale to supplement protein needs. Modern commercial trade takes place at the Yambio State headquarters and other major towns such as Maridi, Nzara, Ezo, Tabura and the greater Mundri counties.

 

Population in the state is sparsely distributed, however bigger concentratiosn can be found around the major towns mentioned above. This is attributed to the attraction of available services and amenities in those major towns.

 

After the signing of the CPA, the State like other states in Southern Sudan, fervently embarked on the renovation of structures and the provision of basic services to its populations. The government offices are fully renovated and housed particular ministries. One major development taking place in the State is the road construction that was very conspicuous during this study. The construction is taking place from Maridi to Yambio up to Tambura. The road cuts across the State and will connect major counties to the State capital. Another apparent post conflict development was the mobile telecommunication network development. In Yambio there are four network providers while in Maridi there are two.

 

International humanitarian agencies present in Yambio and Maridi include; UNICEF, World Vision, FAO, German Red Cross/Sudanese Red Crescent, Maltaser, Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA). These agencies offer a wide range of humanitarian services such as health, water/sanitation, education and agricultural development in the Yambio and Maridi areas. Civil society emergence in Western Equatoria State (WES) can be traced back to the early years of the liberation struggle in the mid 1990s. Though there was need from the community that required services of local organizations, there was no enabling environment that favoured the formation of civil society groups as this was not compatible with the laws and regulations of the movement. However this was lifted after the movement had a meeting with the humanitarian community in 1995 in New Cush. The movement later encouraged the formation of local organizations in the name of Sudanese Indigenous NGOs (SINGOs) to support its policy of peace through development.