File: Parts of the road washed away by floods on May 23, 2020.

A group of lawyers has threatened to sue the Ministry of Roads and Shandong Hi-Speed company for the shoddy work on the Juba-Rumbek highway.

This comes after reports showed that parts of the road were damaged and washed away by heavy rains due to poor construction.

Last month, the Shandong Hi-speed attributed the damages to an “unexpected” flood which exceeded the hydrological data collected during the survey.

But, the damage happened in two locations, including one submerged section – about a kilometer away from the military headquarters, which reportedly caused flooding in the adjacent residential area.

In a petition, the Kush Advocates and Solicitors demands the government and the company, to explain the damage and failure to design the road in a proper way.

They also demanded that the contract between the company and government should be disclosed for the interest of the public.

The Kush Advocates and Solicitors told Eye Radio that failure to respond to the petition will attract a lawsuit.

“The way the Rumbek-Juba highway is being constructed, we have seen it is not good for the public,” one of the advocates, Joseph Majak Madut said.

“There are defaults in that road, we have seen last week how poorly it was constructed, in one day rain just washed it away and that goes to the quality of the road that is been deliver to the people of South Sudan.”

He said due to the poor design of the road, surrounding communities are now facing floods.

“Water channels, watercourses are blocked and that resulted to flooding to the surrounding communities and their lives have been affected, that is why we have decided to give the notice of intention to sue, and if there’s no further remedy then we will take them to the court of law,” lawyer Majak added.