S. Sudan Hails Cross-Border Peace, Development Initiative

By Isaac Vuni

May 19, 2009 (JUBA) – Minister of Regional Cooperation Barnaba Marial Benjamin, speaking on behalf of the Government of Southern Sudan (GOSS) to a visiting team from the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), hailed cross-border cooperation on trade and security.

The ICGLR program was signed by 11 member states in December 2006 in Nairobi comprising Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Sudan, Kenya, DR Congo, Central African republic, Angola and Zambia, nine of which ratified.

Benjamin assured participants of the regional government’s political and financial commitment toward disarmament of armed nomadic pastoralists.

The minister said GOSS is working very hard to control the death toll arising from cattle rustling in southern Sudan adding that there should be development plans for nomadic pastoralists as a solution to effective development.

State Minister of Kenya Isaac Musuba said the issue of cattle rusting has become a major concern within communities spanning three countries. He emphasized that disarmament of armed nomadic pastoralists in Uganda, Kenya and Sudan as well as Ethiopia should be carried out concurrently in a coordinated and harmonized manner.

He added that Southern Sudan’s government has a special role to play in disarmament that ought to be coordinated carry to ensure security and development environments.

Hon. Agnes Lasube, head of regional and international cooperation in the Southern Sudan Legislative Assembly (SSLA), said cattle rustling has affected the whole of southern Sudan today while Hon. David Mayo who led the government delegation to attend a meeting held in Kampala, Uganda revealed that they had had a confrontation with Sudanese embassy that claimed to be the only official representative at the international forum.

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