Bishop Emmanuel Lomoro Eluzai, the Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Rokon (center) with religious leaders - Courtesy

The Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Rokon says insecurity is posing a big challenge to development and service delivery in Juba County.

Emmanuel Lomoro Eluzai made the remarks during a meeting with Juba County Commissioner, Emmanuel Tete Ezbon yesterday.

He said people are afraid to move on the roads and also work on their farms.

Eluzai further decries the poor conditions of roads, hospitals, and schools in Rokon Payam.

“The biggest thing that we need in our county is peace and security, There must be security in our county because if there’s security, people of Juba County can cultivate and move freely and provide service even to our government,” Eluzai said.

“The last thing that we talk about is development because we know that Juba county is the mother county in the whole of South Sudan,” he said.

“We expect that there must be development to happen in the aspect of the roads and building of schools, hospitals, and even police stations to deliver services to our peoples in South Sudan.”

Early this year, members of the Juba County Parliamentary Caucus identified land grabbing as a primary contributor to insecurity within Juba County.

The report highlighted a disturbing increase in cases of land grabbing, particularly in the Payams of Kworojik, Luri, Mangala, and Lobonok, among others.

In April, more than 6,000 Internally Displaced Persons fled their homes in Mundri East County to Rokon town of Central Equatoria following clashes between an armed group and the SSPDF.