08 February 2011

South Sudan to build new capital

via a blog post, and about 14 different people on twitter (THIS is how I get my news these days??!!!).
In the resolution passed on Friday in the Council of Ministers meeting chaired by President Salva Kiir Mayardit, the government reached the decision to relocate the capital to a "befitting" new location elsewhere in the South.
I mainly think this is a terrible idea because I have spent a lot of time staring at Ministry budgets which manage to fit in little else besides brand new buildings and salaries. And they will now have to start all over again with the new buildings. Will they be able to find buyers for all the old ones? Probably not from the private sector but perhaps some of the aid organisations still working from containers?

Hopefully this new capital will be on the outskirts of Juba as a friend suggested, which would at least save having to build new roads (a brand new tarmac road - the first highway in Southern Sudan - is also currently being built from Kampala to Juba).

I blame America, and Washington D.C., for giving Salva bad ideas. 

1 comment:

Rob said...

It looks like they plan to shift it farther inland and away from any infrastructure. but considering how long it takes them to think up and implement an idea, will probably be another 20 years before they decide to do anything. They should stay in Juba, but the locals don't want em. I don't blame the locals.

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