Governor Louis Lobong Lojore of Eastern Equatoria State. |File photo.

The Governor of Eastern Equatoria State urged his people to shun unproductive habits and start cultivating their farms this rainy season to fight poverty and revive dwindling economy.

Louis Lobong Lojore says he has observed that many people abandoned their farms to engage in leisure-seeking activities such as playing dominoes under trees.

“Yesterday, (Saturday), I was moving around to see whether people are busy cultivating or going to the gardens, and I found the majority of the people seating under the trees, some playing dominoes,” he said.

Lobong said he asked, “people, even during this time of cultivation, you are playing dominoes? Let us leave idleness and let us leave gossiping all the time.”

Lobong calls on the state communities to change their mindsets and improve their livelihoods through hard work.

According to Lobong, if the people venture into agriculture, the state and the nation shall be redeemed from the consequences of the current economic crisis.

“I know there are challenges of economics in our country. This requires us to change our mindsets, to change our attitudes, to change our behavior, change the way we handle our resources and we need to work very hard to improve our livelihoods.”

Speaking during a Palm Sunday Mass in Torit, he further urged the local people to redouble efforts to defeat dependence on foreign aid.

“Why do women alone go to cultivate, and we men remain and go and play dominoes? We must defeat foreign aid so that we become self-reliant”.