Hundreds of students and members of civil society organizations demonstrated peacefully in Wau town in South Sudan’s Western Bahr el Ghazal state yesterday in support of relocation of the nation’s capital city from Juba to Wau town.

This comes after Western Bahr el Ghazal State Governor Rizig Zachariah Hassan proposed the transfer of the South Sudanese capital to Wau in a rally attended by President Salva Kiir, a few days after the Independence Day celebrations at Wau Stadium.

Thok Mach, a representative of civil society organizations says they welcome the proposal and called on the local youths to stand behind the political leadership in order to take advantage of the development that will be witnessed by the transfer of the capital.

The activist enumerated the advantages of relocating the capital to Wau, pointing out that Western Bahr el Ghazal is calm and peaceful.

Though the town is in South Sudan’s west, he said that it is geographically central – because it serves as a hub for a number of roads into other parts of Bahr al Ghazal and Western Equatoria.

Mach further stated that wider consultations were conducted with stakeholders on the transfer of the capital to Wau.

John Hassan Andria, the chairman of the Sudan’s People Liberation Movement- Youth League affirmed that the youths in the state stand firm behind the state authorities to make sure that the capital city is relocated to Wau.

He urged the South Sudanese to back up the idea of relocating the capital city to Wau town.

Meanwhile, several local residents interviewed by Radio Tamazuj called on the government to wait a bit until a thorough feasibility study is done.

“The transfer of the capital to Wau needs wider consultations to be carried out first with host communities to avoid conflicts and land disputes in the future,” said one resident.

The demonstrators marched from the Liberation Stadium to the General Secretariat of the state government to hand over a petition to the Deputy Governor Zachariah Joseph Garang who will present it to President Salva Kiir.

Western Bahr el Ghazal is inhabited by diverse ethnic groups including the Balanda, Luwo, Ndogo, Kreish, Bai and other South Sudanese tribes.

File photo: Governor Rizig Hassan Zacharia (Courtesy Photo/Radio Tamazuj)

Related:

Analysis: Kiir looking at scenario for moving capital (23 July)

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