Unity state government starts assembling of river dredging machines

JUBA – The government of Unity State has reportedly started the assembling of the river dredging machines that arrived from Egypt in early June, despite assertion by the national government in Juba that it has no information as to who imported the machines.

In a statement earlier this month, the ministry of water resources and irrigation announced the arrival of river dredging machines from the Arab Republic of Egypt via Sudan in preparation for clearance of weeds inside Naam River, an important tributary of the River Nile.

But the presidency in Juba said it had no information as to who was behind the import of the machines to the country pointing to the fact that no study has been made over the project’s risk assessment.

The ministry of environment and forestry then announced that the project is illegal and cannot go ahead.

But speaking to Sudans Post this morning, a senior state government official, who requested not to be named for sensitivity of the issue, said that state authorities, with directives from the government in Juba, have started the assembling process of the machines ahead of the start of the dredging process.

“This project is being carried out by the central government and the presidency is aware of it and with their directive, the process of assembling of the machines has started and it will take a few weeks before it is completed,” the official said from Rubkona.

“So, while we assembly the machines, we are also expecting the rest of them (machines) to arrive from Egypt through Sudan and after that we will start the process which we believe will help us get rid of the devastating floods that have affected our people,” the official added.