By Theophilous Ochang

Residents of Enyief boma in Gumbo are a worried lot following the collapse of the Kor-Moloto bridge, which links them to the main Torit town.  

The bridge was broken after the area experienced heavy rain which lasted for close to nine hours. Inyief boma, located in the South part of Torit town, has key government institutions including, Torit County, Police, ministry of Agriculture, Labour headquarters, among others, which the public rely on daily.

In an interview with The City Review on Monday, Santa Ifere Valerio, a resident of Enyief in Torit, shared his experience after he risked to cross the flooded river.

“I am not happy at all, for having to risk my life to cross such a flooded area. All through I though the raging water will sweep me away as I crossed the river,” she said.

Ifere raised fears over the fate of children, the disabled and other vulnerable groups, saying they would face serious challenges crossing the river.

“At least for me I am grown and abled. What of the young school-going children. Ho about the disabled? Will they manage to cross the river? He asked.

Rose Felix, another resident of Enyief, called on the government to rehabilitate the Kor-Moloto bridge to mitigate the challenges of access and communication.

 According to the residents, there is need for urgent rehabilitation of the bridge, which has always been overlapped by the Kineti River, yet has not been repaired for ages despite the dire condition.

When contacted for comments, the Eastern Equatoria state minister of road and bridges, Jildo Abala Remy, acknowledged the challenging situation and said it has affected children and the workers in the ministry of public service, Agriculture, Torit County and police headquarters.   

 Unfortunately, the state minister confirmed that there is no plan at the moment to fix the bridge due to financial constraints.

“We acknowledge that this is a big challenge. However, we currently don’t have the funds to immediately address the issue. It’s actually a challenging situation, I don’t know what can be done about that at the moment really,” he said.