Why Hon. Martin Lomuro is the National Government Criminal (NGC) and the Implications of Riverain Dredging on the Nile Sudd Wetlands across South Sudan

By Dr Sunday de John, Member of the Social Media Criminals (SMC), Juba, South Sudan

Thursday, July 7, 2022 (PW) — Over the last few weeks, the media (main and social) have been awash with a mixture of reactions from different spheres of the Republic of South Sudan. The outcry came at the backdrop of a project proposal, dubbed “Jonglei Canal Development Project, December 2021,” developed by the Ministry of Water and Irrigation under the stewardship of the late Minister, Hon. Manawa Peter Gatkuoth.

The essential content of the said proposal is that, once the proposal ends, the benefits that would be heaped upon it by South Sudanese are that it would provide water for irrigation of up to 7.5 million acres, upgrade river transport, tourism, trade, industry, and social development; improve the country’s food security; grow export crops; and allow the development of fish farming. All these have been described by Joshua Dau Diu as “imaginary and fallacious”. 

Another trigger of the debate was the arrival of the dredging equipment currently stationed or at work in the Unity State as per directives of Manawa according to the recent corroboration by the State Minister of Physical Infrastructure, Lands, Housing, and Public Utilities, Mr Lam Tungwar.

When this sparked the outcry, in their response, Ateny Wek, on behalf of the President, and Hon. Josephine Napwon, the Minister of Environment, denied any knowledge of the dredging project and the arrival of equipment from Egypt. This was from June 7 and June 8, 2022, respectively. This position was contradicted by Manawa, and on a later date, James Wani and Riek Machar expressed that it was a government project that was approved by the Council of Ministers. 

With this debate still at its primordial stage, the unfortunate matter is that Hon. Manawa had just passed on and while at his funeral, several Senior Government officials were in attendance, including the First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar, Vice President James Wani Igga, and Martin Elia Lomuro. They all talked, and their speeches were all directed at the outcry of the public through social media as the trigger for Hon. Manawa’s death. 

In his statement, James Wani described South Sudanese who opposed the Canal Project and the Dredging process as emotionally reactive, adding that they didn’t consider any scientific argument. That the White Nile was deserving of dredging because it was filled with rubbish. That trees were growing in the White Nile and thus it will all become a forest and so transportation will be hindered and, subsequently, national prosperity.

This statement was made in conjunction with other statements, and the most striking one was the outrageous utterance by Elia Lomuro, who disrespectfully branded South Sudanese social media criminals and commanded them not to castigate anything related to the said projects. 

While the debate is ongoing, I would like to take part as a concerned citizen of South Sudan. The commencement here is with a basic understanding of what dredging and silting are to debunk James Wani’s limited understanding of the terminologies. 

Dredging and desilting are methods that are used to remove an accumulation of silt material, such as debris, fine gravel, or soil that has been washed into rivers from surrounding land in the catchment, from the bottom of rivers to temporarily increase the flow.

In the case of dredging, it is not only meant to remove debris, fine gravel, or soil, it also involves making the channels larger by removing the riverbed and the channel side material. This means, the depth is increased, and the sides are widened. It is in simple terms making the rivers deeper and wider.

It doesn’t necessarily qualify as an effective flood mitigatory measure. It can only work when used with other measures for flood control because rivers like the White Nile are natural passages and no matter how often dredging is done, the silt can return and accumulate in the same place quickly. Therefore, the plan is short-lived and the deleterious effects that would be caused by this exercise would become inevitably irreversible. 

Does Dredging stop flooding? 

The answer to this question is no. We in South Sudan do not need dredging to stop flooding because the method is not always effective in reducing flood water levels. Instead, it can cause a myriad of damage to the water bodies. This is some of what dredging can result in; it damages plants and animals living in the river. It can also cause other problems, like an increase in erosion and a higher flood risk downstream.

Conversely, a larger river channel, as purported by James Wani, Riek, and Manawa, doesn’t lower flood water levels. The reasons are numerous, but here are a few. Flood water cannot necessarily enter the channels, it can be held back by other natural structures such as the Sudd itself, and in the cases of urban areas, it can be contained by bridges and culverts.

Another reason is that the volume of water transported during a flood is often more than even the dredged channel can contain. Of note is that flood flow can transport a large amount of sediment, which quickly refills the dredged area. Dredging can destroy fish spawning grounds and make riverbeds unstable.

With dredging, the disturbed silt can become suspended in water, lowering water oxygen levels, and thus promoting the release of harmful chemicals into the environment. This, in turn, impacts negatively on the wildlife and water quality downstream. The accumulation of the removed materials from the river would also cause difficulty in its disposal and can even be worse if contaminated. 

The Ministry of Water and Irrigation has planned to resume the digging of the Jonglei canal and dredge the tributaries of the White Nile and that is being supported by Riek Machar, Wani and Lomuro should know that the methods in question are not the solution to flooding. 

If their decision is not informed by ulterior motives such as receipt of bribes from the government of Egypt, the main beneficiaries of the increased flood downstream, then they should consider the scientifically proven measures for flood control. Any government makes decisions based on principles of the decision-making process. 

The government of South Sudan and particularly the leaders in question have presumably not conducted any feasibility studies. They have not considered any negative impact of the said projects on the environment or specifically on the Sudd Wetland. They have not assessed their impact on the quality of water and the dangers this would pose to the fauna and flora. 

To combat flooding, they could have gone for the first line of defence against flooding; the list of what to do is this, and the experts could have given details of what each of the methods can contribute as a positive mitigation measure.

The actions to be undertaken along the water bodies are flood wall construction, embankments, and demountable and temporary barriers. This could help to contain water within river channels. Other preventive measures could have included storage of water upstream and slowing the flow through natural flow management such as leaky dams.

The creation of flood storage areas to temporarily store flood water on land that will more readily recover from flooding to prevent flood water from moving downstream too quickly. This could also be a solution. Other measures such as restoration of peatlands, planting trees, and building leaky dams can significantly contribute to slowing the flow of water into communities further downstream. 

Why of a sudden, have the resumption of digging of the Jonglei Canal and the Dredging of Rivers been regarded as a priority by the government of South Sudan?

Because leaders have been given money and they are afraid to forfeit the deal. Doing that will attract punitive measures. While this stands, it goes without saying that the South Sudanese are not going to let go of their precious resource, water. Thus, leaders are beaten down. 

The citizens of South Sudan understand that South Sudanese leaders are culpable for many things. They know that the leaders, as a matter of greed for resources and power, have plunged the country into abysmal conflict with irreparable damage, including the tearing of the social fabric, economic meltdown, and tenacious lawlessness, all being incurred by the nation. 

It is as if South Sudanese leaders are on the verge of auctioning the country to the highest bidder. With oil having been sold in advance and the funds embezzled, borrowing on behalf of the country has not ceased, with debts having been reported to be around $2 billion. The country is bleeding with Kiir having been captured by London Vultures, the likes of Elia Lomuro, who swindled everything like the deepest hole in the world (Kola Hole). Elia Lomuro and his colleagues have rendered the Revitalized Peace Agreement unimplementable by embezzling over $100 million meant for security arrangements and are unremorseful. 

The allegation by Vice President James Wani Igga that the White Nile will become a forest if dredging is not done is untrue. Like Dr. Riek and Elia Lomuro, he is only a sophist trying to cover up the wrongdoings of his party, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement. The government of South Sudan has succumbed to Egypt. They seem to have been lured by money, and consequently, they have sold off the rights of South Sudanese, especially the rural people who are the prime beneficiaries of the Nile water. 

Now, the matter is no longer in the darkness. It has come into the public domain. The South Sudanese will not accept the resumption of the digging of the Jonglei Canal or dredging of the Nile’s tributaries. Sudd Wetlands has an economic value estimated to be over $ 3 billion by experts. It is the lifeline for the majority of South Sudanese. it is the reason for animals. Both wild and domestic survival and thus the lifeline of all pastoralists. Sudd is the reason why South Sudan, and especially the Equatorial belt, has unfettered rainfall as the wind blows southwards.

It is a carbon sink that contributes as a shield against the greenhouse effect enforced by climatic change. We don’t need South Sudan to be a desert. The desertification and destruction of the ecosystem would have a detrimental effect on the fauna and flora, and the terrestrial animals do not need to be affected as they are future tourist attractions.

There are so many reasons why South Sudanese must never allow the leaders to continue pilfering everything, including the important resources that the nation can’t do without. Egypt ought to be told as a matter of urgency that South Sudanese lives are superior to their need for water. They know so well that nobody has obstructed the White Nile as it is navigable to Khartoum, where it joins the Nile and on to Egypt.

South Sudanese leaders must now cease accepting cheaper offers. We don’t need to squander our water. Selling our water and leaving us to die of drought is a major threat to our very existence. It can be defended tooth and nail.

If Egyptians have goodwill toward South Sudanese, why do they sponsor Dredging and the digging of the Canal and not the construction of the Dams? At least one? A single dam can jointly with the Sudd help in mitigating the floods. We need hydroelectric power. We do not need to be given generators by Egypt. 

The South Sudanese are, through this communication, being urged to support Prof. John Apuruot Akech, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Juba. He stood as an outstanding son of the soil. He must accept being called the leader of the Social Media Criminals. What he is doing is worthy of his time and energy.

If SPLM cadres have just forgotten their historical responsibility and the objectives that made them stage the only protracted war of liberation struggle, then they are here reminded that the Jonglei canal was one of those objectives. It was the South Sudanese that kidnapped the Jonglei Canal workers while protecting water from being stolen by Egypt. It should be noted that history repeats itself, and thus, the South Sudanese should be on standby. Should the authorities enforce the digging of the canal and dredging of the rivers, then the workers should be kidnapped, and the equipment destroyed. 

Elia Lomuro who calls South Sudanese Social Media Criminals is the true criminal, he is robbing South Sudanese while extremely violent. President Salva should work closely with the experts or at best render null and void all the activities sponsored by the foreign governments along the While Nile and its tributaries or else he risks civil unrest. He should not allow the likes of Lomuro to be at the fore because they will attract him to problems he won’t solve.     

Till then, your truly, Mr. Teetotaler!  

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