Dr. Riek Machar, First Vice President of the republic of South Sudan - Courtesy

The claims by the office of the President that the government has not approved the dredging equipment are false, the First Vice President has said.

Last week, President Salva Kiir ordered the suspension of all dredging-related activities until an environmental impact assessment is conducted.

Prior to the suspension, the office of the President said the government has not approved the controversial initiative to dredge the Nile tributaries, including the acquisition of the Nile River dredging machines from Egypt.

The press secretary in the office of President Ateny Wek Ateny said President Kiir was never informed about the machines.

“The government has not given any approval yet on clearing Nile water or clearing the plants that are inside the Nile. We have not yet been told about those machines completely,”  Ateny told Eye Radio Tuesday in Juba.

“The government wanted to know from the experts, the ecological impact of clearing the Nile because their livelihood depends very much on the swamps, that extends to more than thousands of square miles,

“South Sudan would want to know if the people who depend on these swamps will be affected.”

This comes after some experts and members of the public have criticized the importation of the equipment.

They were delivered by the Egyptian government and received by the Minister of Water Resource and Irrigation, Manawa Peter in March.

Speaking during the public consultations on water management on Thursday, Dr. Riek Machar said the dredging was approved by the council of ministers.

The First Vice President pointed out that President Kiir had chaired the September 2021 cabinet meeting which gave the dredging a green light.

The project was targeting the Bahr el Ghazal basin and Naam River, last year.

“The rumors that you are hearing that the Presidency or the Office of the President did not know about the dredging, this is false,” said Dr. Riek.

“Because, he the President was the one seating on the Council of Ministers, It wasn’t me who is the next person,

“The resolutions are always told to the public by the spokesperson of the government, that is Michael Makuei, if he is away, then the Minister of Cabinet Affairs,

“So, we want to correct things, the public may have concerns about the dredging, have we cleared them? Dr. Riek asked.