USAID Supports Opening of County Offices in Southern Sudan
KHARTOUM, SUDAN - On August 2, the USAID-funded County Commissioner's office in Aweil West County, Northern Bahr el Ghazal, was officially opened by Government of Southern Sudan Minister of Finance and Economic Planning Kuol Athian Mawein.
Aweil West is one of 22 Southern Sudanese counties where USAID is working with the Government of Southern Sudan to strengthen local government. Since centralization of government has contributed to marginalization and war in the past, the Government of Southern Sudan has worked toward a more inclusive form of government that will allow greater public participation in political affairs. However, more than two decades of civil war left many counties in ruins, and lacking in the most basic resources to allow local government a stronger administrative role.
To help begin to build local capacity, USAID provided the government of Aweil West with a prefabricated building furnished with tables and chairs, filing cabinets, bookshelves, and basic office supplies. Officials working at the new County Commissioner's office in the town of Nyamlel now have a functional workspace to administer public services. Closer contact with their constituents will enable government officials to be more responsive to local issues and concerns, and better services will reinforce public confidence in both local and national government.
The United States is the single largest donor to Sudan, contributing more than $2.6 billion toward assistance in Sudan and eastern Chad in FY 2005 and FY 2006. Through integrated humanitarian and reconstruction programs, USAID is helping the Sudanese people avert and resolve conflict while promoting stability, recovery, and democratic reform. This strategy emphasizes investment in community development and essential services to reduce tensions, rebuild communities, and encourage and sustain the return of displaced people. Support focuses on education, health care, governance, roads, and transport services.
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