Machar to look into request for more counties in Juba county – spokesman

JUBA – South Sudan’s First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar Teny will look into a request by community leaders from Juba county for creation of more counties in their area where the country’s capital is located, according to his office.

This comes during a meeting between Machar, who is also the leader of the SPLM-IO, and a delegation from the Jubek Council of Elders (JCE) earlier this week.

“Jubek Council of Elders led by its Acting Chairman, Patemo Legge, today met with the First Vice President, H.E. Dr. Riek Machar Teny, and discussed the future of Juba county. The Elders petitioned the government to consider splitting the Juba county into a number of other counties because of the huge population and different communities that live in it,” Machar’s office said in a statement seen by Sudans Post.

“The First Vice President explained that the current arrangement per the R-ARCSS is reverting to the former 79 counties under the 10 states of the country until further notice,” it added.

The brief statement however said the First Vice President “understood their complaint and would be looked into in the future.”