Peter Mayen Majongdit speaks to reporters during his assessment in Magwi County. (Photo: Michael Daniel.)

The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management called on the Ministry of Road and Bridges to urgently rehabilitate feeder roads, for a quick delivery of assistance to flood affected populations.

During an assessment visit to Magwi County of Eastern Equatoria State, Peter Mayen Majongdit said torrential rain and flooding have destroyed feeder roads and affected his ministry’s efforts to deliver emergency assistance to needy people.

“We, as the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs together with Ministry of Roads and Bridges, we must work together to address the feeder road issue, so we can be able to have accessibility in terms of humanitarian delivery and response,” Mayen said to reporters in Magwi County.

Early this month, the government declared flood-affected parts of the country as national disaster areas and appealed to humanitarian organizations and well-wishers to render assistance.

The Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs was allocated 16.7 million US dollars for emergency flood response and has so far contracted 25 national companies to supply food and non-food items to floods affect populations across the country.

“Basically, the feeder road in Eastern Equatoria showed the devastation the flood that has had on the feeder road,” said Minister Mayen in Magwi.

“The affected feeder roads also hinder our humanitarian delivering. The reality we see today in Magwi is that an action is needed today not tomorrow,” he added.

On Thursday, residents of Owingkibul village near the Ugandan border said they are stranded and cut off from commercial and humanitarian access, after running water wrecked transport infrastructures in the area.

On September 17th, torrential rains swelled up rivers and ruined Owingkibul bridge, a vital transit route connecting parts of Eastern Equatoria State with neighboring Uganda.

The villagers who spoke to this radio station urged the government to repair the bridge as soon as possible.

South Sudan has experienced extreme flooding over the past three years, with 835,000 people affected by flooding in 2021 alone.