The office of the Governor of Western Equatoria State is planning to form a committee this week to plan the visit of President Salva Kiir and First Vice President Riek Machar to Yambio.
Governor Alfred Futuyo’s press secretary, Alex Didi, said the formation of the organising committee had been delayed by the festivities.
On his arrival in the state capital, Yambio, from Juba, in December last year, Governor Futuyo told the media that Kiir, Machar, and Vice President for Service Cluster, Hussein Abdelbagi, were expected to make a joint visit to Yambio in January 2022.
“I am back with good news to Western Equatoria State people. President Salva Kiir confirmed his coming here earlier in January. He will come together with First Vice President Dr Riek Machar and VP Hussein Abdelbagi,” Governor Futuyo told the residents through the media.
“The committee is not yet formed, most of the officials who are supposed to be in the committee went on leave. So, the formation has been delayed, but we are hopeful that within this week the committee will be formed, ” Didi told The City Review from the WES capital, Yambio.
“Although the committee will be formed within this week, we still believe that we will expect more time for the committee so that the mobilisation of the resources can be done for the reception of the President and his deputies, ” he stressed.
Didi is hopeful that the high-level committee will be formed by this week to start their work immediately.
“Maybe after two weeks, they will be ready to give the go-ahead for the top two leaders to come,” Didi stressed.
The team that will be headed by President Kiir is expected to spend three days in the state to discuss challenges facing the state and the way forward.
It will be the first time for Kiir and Machar, to have a joint visit to the state. The last travelled together in 2010 for the Comprehensive Peace Agreement celebration in Yambio, which also marked the end of the CPA celebration.
The expected visit to Yambio is President Kiir’s peace initiative in the spirit of reconciliation and mutual trust in working together.
Last year, Kiir was expected to grace the commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Lui Diocese of the Episcopal Church of South Sudan, but he assigned his minister of presidential affairs minister, Dr Barnaba Marial Benjamin.
Recent meeting
The Lui Centenary, which was held on December 20 and 21, 2021, at the Lui Diocese in Mundri East County, was celebrated without President Kiir, but he sent his presidential minister to attend the function.
In their speeches at the Lui Centenary celebration, all the officials from WES, including the governor, commissioners, community leaders and church leaders expressed disappointment over Kiir’s failure to visit the state since independence.
Governor Futuyo said that WES needs prayers from church leaders for the president to visit this state. “President Kiir visited this state when Nunu Kumba was the governor, but since then, unlike Bangasi and other governors, including me, Kiir never thought of coming here.”
“But it is still not too late for him to come, so take our message back to the president that people here want him to visit them, ” he said.
He addressed the grievances to the Minister of Presidential Affairs Dr Barnaba Marial Benjamin, who attended the celebration on behalf of the president.