Women Politicians In South Sudan

"It is truly time to heal our traumatized war-burdened souls. Hence, my straight-up answer is we have no choice but to believe in this peace agreement because war is not an option."

"power infrastructure is capital intensive and requires both public and private capital, which at the moment is not forth-coming."

"The reasons are many and vary from different perspectives because the demands are not the same. But in a nutshell, energy is required by all. The new energy technologies provide a cleaner environment and energy, hence the improved health conditions of women."

"Women spend most of their time fetching firewood for cooking and other domestic use. The availability of clean and easy access to energy will save women’s time and enable them to engage in other productive activities."

"With particular reference to household energy, which women are the most concerned, be a working woman, a housewife, a female entrepreneur, etc. In this competitive world, there is a need to cut on time usage."

"With the current trend, in which more women are pursuing studies in different fields such as engineering, medicine, etc., there will be many women competing for jobs in the energy sector and surely they are potential candidates to fill the gap in the industry."

"Being a female politician in a highly patriarchal society such as South Sudan is never easy. But more and more women are breaking down the gender-related barriers that held their predecessors back."

"In my mind, as a child at that time, the only way to escape poverty was to go to school. It was at that time that I decided to commit myself to school."

"The support we have has to go through the national parliament; those are constituencies of the national parliament. Whatever program we get, we have to work with the national parliament."

"Our women in the rural areas will be engaged by the national parliament in Juba because we cannot work directly with them because we are a regional parliament."

"Our political parties are not creating enough forums for women to understand who they are. I am trying to say women are watching every political party in South Sudan."

"We need to provide leadership; this is number one, and also participating fully and taking care of our own interests. It is not just about our presence, but there are training opportunities in customs, trade, finance and banking system, and so forth."

"Women are very cautious in politics, so the parties must do a lot to attract more women to their membership. So what I want to start in my program is to introduce to women how political parties work and what types of political parties they can join. We need to change how political parties behave because some parties do not encourage women who want to progress in politics."

"If we train our people and take this seriously, it will save South Sudan money because you will not spend money again to train people because you will use the money paid as membership fees."

"Now is the time as a nation to put together a vision and strategy for theproper management of this strategic resource"."

"Sudan now has the opportunity to develop the oil sector in order to support the peace, to ensure that unity is attractive, to ensure that those aggrieved during war get redressed, and to take our place in the modern world where oil is produced with social responsibility."

"We have an oil revenue calculation committee, and every month, we look at the production and sales figures, and work out the figures for who takes what ... Right now, those figures are just based on production, and then shared between North and South. There isn't much trust, that's why you hear complaining from the South Sudan about the amounts they are getting"."

"Government of Southern Sudan] is uncertain about the oil production figures released by the federal government and also feels that its quota is not fair. ...GoSS was not given any representation at the strategic stages of oil production and overseas marketing"."

"management of oil resources was largely though not entirely being handled from the south, and South Sudan was in control of most of its oil fields"

"there had been considerable controversy over the Ministry of Energy and Mining when the Government of National Unity was being formed. The oil industry had been developed during the civil war as a means to finance that war, at great human cost, and military concerns had dictated the structure of the industry."

"CCC was originally meant only for girls, touching issues surrounding young girls living on the streets, orphaned, unaccompanied, and those in dire need, but eventually, when statistics were carried out in the streets of Juba we realised that not only the girls but the boys were equally affected."

"We are not getting assistance from the government and, in fact, some of the kids are brought here by the government because the facility they have always takes older children from 5 years of age and up, but we often get 10 newly born babies."

"There are also good friends of the children who bring us food and non-food items, nappis, second-hand clothes and our good staff who are calm. When you see the children, you just have to take care of them because they are our children and South Sudanese children. “What the kids eat is what we eat.”"

"An eye-opener, really. I don’t know if people realise the fragility of children of this nature because before coming here, perhaps we knew enough about orphans. If both your parents die, the extended family looks after you, but if they are unwilling, the government has to take care of you."

"Family tracing and unification is one of the hardest things to do, but we engage the Red Cross, which has the capacity to cross borders. We try as much as possible to get the information updated regularly so that the child can be relocated when he or she grows up."

"There are also children who are hyperactive and cannot stay still but are always creating trouble. You won’t realise this until you stay with them and see with your own eyes. It gives you a wider spectrum of what children are like in the real world."

"Let us support our veterans and their children while they are still alive. Many veterans are left without any means of support; they are like walking corpses. We need to find ways to help them."

"We hope the spirit of Bior Ajang will restore the peace we have lost. A pastor prayed for Bior Ajang's spirit to be with the angels, and I add that we also seek the presence of Dr. John Garang's spirit to help redeem our country."

"My condolences to all those who lost their lives in Kajo Keji, including both the cattle herders and the residents of the area."

"My heart is heavy, and I truly believe that if it weren't for this country, Dr. John would not have died. He gave his life for you. But seeing how his people are suffering and dying now, it feels as though his sacrifice was in vain. It's time to change our hearts."

"I ask you to pray for the political will so that we, as leaders, can accept one another. If we do, we won't work as separate parties but as one government, serving one people."

"Let us put an end to divisions and the bitterness in our hearts. We are one people, created by God in His own image."

"My dear compatriots, life in Juba and Southern Sudan is beginning to take shape. Juba is no longer the town you once knew. It was once a lifeless place, filled with trauma and loss, where people were killed and it felt like a graveyard. But now, Juba is slowly transforming and taking shape."

"The Government of National Unity and the Government of Southern Sudan have been established, along with two separate assemblies: the Assembly of the North and the Assembly of Southern Sudan."

"The oil revenue sharing is not proceeding as anticipated. However, "The CPA is my new husband.""

"At the funeral, I told the people, "If you kill a lion, you will see what the lioness can do." I am not afraid of anything, not even death, because I have nothing left but my people. I am committed to protecting the CPA and ensuring that the people of Southern Sudan experience the freedom and dignity they have long yearned for."

"We'll graduate them with sticks and send them straight to the community; they won't be going to the barracks. What truly controls a soldier is their weapon."

"I'm not here to deny what's been happening in the country, nor to defend what's going on."

"Yes, we’ve faced some challenges, and given the difficulties we’re experiencing, our people have high expectations from the government."

"What has happened over the years can't be undone overnight. It’s a process, and we’re asking our people to be patient with us."

""If you go to Juba now, the economic indicators are showing progress. The IMF has supported us, and we've managed to stabilize the exchange rate," she said, adding that through IMF loans, her government has been able to control South Sudan's rising inflation and provide back pay to civil servants."

"The South Sudan National Revenue Authority has digitized its revenue collection system and removed illegal "taxation" roadblocks."

"We are committed to ensuring that women's representation is achieved. Yes, there are challenges— for instance, in the executive, the representation stands at 26%, when it should be 35%. However, the situation in parliament is much better than in the executive."

"At least this percentage in the presidency is acceptable because it's a position we weren't reaching before. And as you know, women are reasonable people. Despite the traditions and cultural norms that once oppressed women in the country, we are now in a much better place."

"Meeting the 35% women's representation target remains a challenge. I acknowledge these issues, but the most important thing for us right now is ensuring the safety of our children."

"As a government, we must ensure the implementation of this agreement—there is nothing more important, as I said before. The world is tired of us, and even our own people are losing patience. But they must remain patient and give us another opportunity to fulfill this agreement. There is no shortcut to freedom. If they want freedom and security in their own country, we must continue on this challenging journey."

"This message is for our President Salva Kiir: We must support our veterans while they are still alive, so they can care for their families."