Let this peace deal last, Rokon County commissioner hopes

By Guest Writer

[Rokon, South Sudan, TCT] On 12^thSeptember, this writer had the chance to meet and talk to Hon. Simon Muzee Noel, Commissioner of Rokon County: The stout, dark skinned man is soft spoken but his words are heavy with optimism for his county’s residents and his fellow South Sudanese.

During my 30 minutes with Commissioner Muzee, he spoke clearly about the future of this country. He said there is need to harness and ensure the peace deal holds to the letter and spirit.

He said the meeting between President Salva Kiir and Opposition Chief Dr Riek Machar finally in Juba is a clear indications of better days ahead.

“This is a milestone, we need them to meet often because this will build confidence and restore hopes in citizens,” he said.

Commissioner Muzee told me that the Revitalized Peace Agreement gives hope to majority of South Sudanese who bore the brunt of the previous civil wars.

“When peace returns, we know people will settle back and we will be able to engage in serious farming. All we pray for is for peace to return as soon as the unity government is formed,” he said.

The peace deal was signed on 12^thSeptember last year and aimed at ushering in a unity government by 12^thMay this year.

However sticky issues have seen the deal lag on, forcing the parties to extend the implementation period by another six months. With less than two months to the November 12^thdeadline for formation of the unity government, most of the concerns have not been sorted out. They revolve around security arrangement and states boundaries.

The last meeting between President Kiir and Dr Machar sought to review progress and fast-track the thorny, pending issues. The duo agreed to constitute two committees with mandates of fast-tracking the pending issues and reporting to the two principals periodically. Both Kiir and Machar agreed that the November 12^thdeadline for the formation of the government of national unity would be achieved.

The commissioner’s worries however stems from issues around insecurity, food security and poor infrastructure.

The situation in South Sudan has improved since last year and residents are now embarking on serious farming. 

“We expect better crop yields unlike previous years. We will have good sorghum and groundnuts because we have had good rains though some parts are flooded,” Commissioner Muzee said.

Farmers are facing prospects of a poor harvest after worms invaded crops. He said the county government has deployed a tractor to the county to boost farming. The tractor, though, doesn’t have necessary parts that would make it more effective and useful to the farmers.