Gov’t official confirms plan to relocate Rubkona county headquarters to Kaljak Payam 

JUBA – A senior government official of the defunct Northern Liech state has confirmed reports that state the government was working to relocate the headquarters of Rubkona County headquarters from Pakur to Kaljak Payam.

On Friday, a senior state government official told Sudans Post that governor of Unity state Joseph Nguen Manytuil Wijang was lobbying Leek prominent state government officials to consent and advocate for relocation of the county headquarters.

Rubkona County is an administrative unit in Unity state inhabited by the Leek community sub-section of the Nuer and comprising of eight Payam of Pakur, where Rubkona is located, Dhorbor, Budang, Panhiany, Nor Lam Wel, Pawel, Kaljak and Wathjak Payam.

Speaking to Sudans Post on Friday night, former information minister of the defunct Northern Liech state Lam Tungwar Kueiguong who is also expected to make a comeback into the soon-to-be Unity state cabinet confirmed the relocation plan, but said it was still under consultative process.

“Rubkona relocation is […] under consultative process. Am now in Juba and consultations are underway and soon we will have a decision of the population,” he said without clarifying if the population would have to go to vote for a yes-or-no choice.

“Evil plan”

Vocal social media users from Rubkona county have took to the social media giant Facebook to express their disapproval and anger over the matter.

Wiyiy Chuol, a Khartoum-based social media activist from Rubkona county called the relocation bid an ‘evil plan’ saying none of the government officials there do not have the power to chose were their county headquarter should be.

“Rubkona has its own citizens and prominent personalities in the parliament, military and politicians within the both parties (SPLM-IO and SPLM-IG). They should be the very people who would decided on our behalf instead of others,” he said.

Tor Madira Machier, a Cairo-based journalist from Rubkona wrote on his social media Facebook page that the plan would cause further harm to what he said is a already fragile inter-communal relations and will definitely jeopardize the implementation of the revitalized peace agreement.

“President Salva should be mindful of the Bentiu reality in light of Nguen Manytuil’s governorship and intervene so that Nguen —who has already destroyed the social fabric among the people of Unity state — is prevented from doing further harm to the already fragile inter-communal relations between Unity state communities,” he wrote.

He further added that the citizens of Rubkona county “should be the decision makers and not the NCP remnants that are working hard disintegrating our communities to please Sudan.”