If the Mafi Bridge crumbles, Yei, Morobo, and Lainya will be rendered inaccessible -Lainya commissioner

The commissioner of Lainya County in Central Equatoria State has urged the state administration to repair the Mafi Bridge that connects Yei, Lainya, and Morobo counties to Juba.

Emmanuel Khamis Richard warned that the bridge may collapse due to recent heavy rains and inadequate roads, impeding mobility and the supply of essential services.

“This road has been unrehabilitated for an extended period of time, and owing to severe rains, several bridges, notably the Mafi Bridge, have been swept away, leaving it in poor condition.

I would like to appeal to the national, state, and the international community to urgently assist in repairing the bridge because without it, Yei, Morobo, and Lainya will be inaccessible, and in order for us to deliver humanitarian assistance and other basic social services, we need good roads and bridges.”

In a Radio Tamazuj report seen by NCMP, Mohamed Alison, a commercial driver on the Juba-Yei route, acknowledged that the condition of the bridges puts passengers in danger and results in expensive transportation expenses.

Alison cautions that if nothing is done, truckers would halt operations on the Yei-Juba route until the dry season begins. Alison said that truckers spend many hours and days travelling to and from Yei.

“If this rain continues at this rate, it will inevitably wash away the bridges, which is why we are pleading with the government to repair this bridge and any other potholes on the road so that travel along the route from Yei-Juba is as easy as possible,” he said.

The Juba-Yei road is a national highway that links South Sudan to Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.