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Sudan Tribune

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Jonglei: New Bor Commissioner takes oath of office

September 12, 2012 (BOR) – The newly appointed commissioner of Bor County, Agot Alier Leek took an oath of his office on Wednesday 12 September after he was appointed on September 10.

Agot Alier Leek, taking the oath of office to become the Commissioner of Bor County before the president of the Jonglei State High Court, 12 September 2012 (ST)
Agot Alier Leek, taking the oath of office to become the Commissioner of Bor County before the president of the Jonglei State High Court, 12 September 2012 (ST)

Hundreds of people from Bor county and various tribes residing in Bor celebrated the appointment of the Dr. Alier to his new office in Bor, the capital of Jonglei State.

Many people in Bor hoped that they will find residential plots under the new commissioner, after the government knocked down a number of building recently citing town planning reasons.

Atong Abiel is one of the women whose house was demolished in Bor an area said to be owned by traders who had been carrying allotment letters since 2007.

“We were forced out of places, nobody listened to our resquests of being given time till dry season comes”, Abiel in the Dinka language.

Alier is the first Bor commissioner to be received with such high expectations. Celebrations about his appointment are said to be ongoing elsewhere in the county, with a number of cattle being slaughtered.

Agot Alier Leek, Bor County's new commissioner places his hand on the Bible during his swearing in setting, 12 September 2012 (ST)
Agot Alier Leek, Bor County’s new commissioner places his hand on the Bible during his swearing in setting, 12 September 2012 (ST)

While addressing the people in the hall were he took oath, Alier pledged to serve the diverse population of Bor town and the people of Bor County in general to the best of his ability.

“With the new assignment I am given, I will work to the best of your expectations and for the benefit of the people of the people of Bor County”, he said.

The new commissioner promised to set up drainage system in Bor, work to reduce the number of street children and roaming cattle among others issues of concern for citizen.

He also said he will work closely with the state government to improve the education and health in the county, including the capital of Bor which also serves as his headquarters.

Agot Alier, is a member of the Dinka Bor from Anyidi Payam [district] in Bor County. Before the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), which brought the former rebels the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) to power in South Sudan, Alier held the position of Jonglei’s Deputy Governor for seven years as a member of Sudan’s ruling National Congress party (NCP).

In 2005 Minister of Health from 2005 to 2010, still on the NCP ticket. When the government was dissolved ahead of the April 2010 ahead general elections Agot resigned from the NCP, which has governed Sudan from Khartoum since 1989, and registered himself as a member of South Sudan’s ruling SPLM. He did not stand for election.

Agot Alier, a medical doctor by profession, was appointed as an advisor on health issues by Jonglei Governor, Kuol Manyang, after he was re-elected.

Governor Manyang cautioned him to work with the people for the benefit of the people. Commissioners in South Sudan under the country’s transitional constitution are appointed by state Governors.

“These people who came for celebration are happy about your appointment, you should educate them on the policies of the government”, said Manyang.

“Listen to their complaints and handle them accordingly”, he added.

Manyang, a SPLM/A veteran of the civil war two-decade civil war that ended in 2005, stressed that education as one of the major concerns in the county.

“It was because education of the children that made me took most of the young boys to Ethiopia to learn there in 1987. Some of them were later on reintegrated into the army when some of people who joint the SPLA without a vision defected”, said Manyang.

“Many of these people who left for US, Cananda, Australia and other parts of the world are holding Ph.Ds, Masters. They will now take over the leadership from us”, he added.

(ST)

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