South Sudan Plans to Move Capital from Juba

By Staff Writer

JUBA--The newly independent nation in Africa, South Sudan has on Friday September 2 announced plans to move its capital from the bustling main city of Juba to a smaller town in the north that has enough space for expansion.

The decision to move seat of power was reached during the first sitting of the newly constituted cabinet, chaired by President Salva Kiir. Information Minister Barnaba Marial Benjamin confirmed the report. When effected, the transfer will bring to an end the long standing land disputes between the government and the Bari community that traditionally owns the land around Juba city.

The South Sudan cabinet said Juba, the present seat of government, lacks sufficient land for expansion, prompting the decision to pick Ramciel, 250 kilometres northwest of Juba for the role.

“Juba is too small. Where do you put government institutions and investors? We need a large parcel of land to accommodate development projects,” South Sudanese Information minister Barnaba Marial Benjamin said.

Following a resolution by the cabinet, the capital would be moved in five to eight years to Ramciel, a largely uninhabited area in Lakes state near the centre of the world's newest nation. It would sit on the west bank of the White Nile River. The decision awaits the approval of the parliament of South Sudan.

With government as the main source of business in newly independent countries, the planned relocation is expected to send several businesses that had already pitched camp in South Sudan or intended to do so back to the drawing board.

Kenyan businesses that have set up shop in South Sudan are expected to realign their operations following a decision by the country’s cabinet to relocate the administrative capital.

Several major Kenyan companies such as Kenya Airways, Equity Bank, Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB), UAP Insurance and many other small enterprises currently mainly service clients in South Sudan from Juba.

“Once set and all facilities/infrustructure is in place, then moving becomes inevitable,” said Kenya Airways in a statement. “This will affect all industry players”.

With the service industry in South Sudan yet to fully take shape after decades of war with the North, the government remains the dominant client for establishments such as banks.

Just north of the border, in Sudan, fighting continued in two states between the Sudanese Army and rebels aligned with the south. In South Kordofan State, 17 people were killed, Reuters reported Saturday.

To the east, thousands of people were reported to be fleeing from Blue Nile State, where Sudanese troops began a ground offensive on Friday night. The United Nations refugee agency said Saturday that about 16,000 people had fled across the border into Ethiopia since the fighting there began.