The Juba City Council restarts the contentious demolition exercise.

Juba City Council has restarted the contentious demolition exercise, referring to it as a restructuring plan to give the city a makeover.

On Saturday, heavy security personnel from the South Sudan National Police Service (SSNPS), the South Sudan People Defence Forces (SSPDF), and the National Security (NS) were deployed to protect the demolition exercise at Hong-Hong (Juba Nabari residential neighborhood).

The Hong-Hong region has been identified as one of the zones in Juba where the majority of locals have expressed opposition to the Juba City Council’s decision.

During the resumption of the demolition exercise, the Mayor of Juba City Council, Michael Thomas Allah-Jabu, said that the restart of the exercise would result in the reopening of highways in Juba town.

“Today we are returning [to] begin the road opening.” We’re standing in the Hong-Hong neighborhood of the Juba Nabari residential area. The launch of today is a continuation of the opening of highways and the reorganization of Juba City,” stated Allah-Jabu

According to him, they would extend the practice to locations such as Kator town block, Munuki block council, and Gudele, where roads will be opened.

Allah-Jabu swore not to make any concessions since the government had given people adequate time to leave the designated regions.

“These activities have begun and will continue till we attain our goals.”

“Of course, we have given them a grace time to prepare themselves by removing constructions that enriched the roadways, and we also have worries [of] our citizens inside the city of Juba,” the Juba City Council chief said.
He asked civilians in impacted regions to collaborate with engineers and others participating in the exercise to prevent misunderstandings and conflicts with security personnel.

“We, as Juba City Council, appeal to our civic people in Juba that the work we are doing is for your benefit and service delivery,” he stated.

“With the opening of the roads, we will have the services of vehicle movement easily, enjoy the services of water, power, and security, particularly the mobility of the fire brigade, which will always aid in case such situations happen,” he stressed.

Allah-Jabu urged the people to support the Juba City Council, stating that the exercise was not intended to harm anybody.

“We are seeking the reformation of Juba City, and we will be visiting all the corners of this city like we began today,” he said emphatically.

The mayor said that the beautifying of Juba City will continue, as it had begun in the neighborhoods around the national parliament along Ministries Road.

He said that this is the present plan and that they would relocate to the airport road, including other locations such as behind J1.

Last September, Kalisto Lado, the previous mayor of Juba City Council, started an exercise named “Reorganization of Town and Market in Juba City,” which entailed the opening of roadways and the demolition of unlawful structures built on the city’s streets.

The demolition effort, according to Kalisto, would be prompted by the necessity to reform land distribution.

“Another reason we brought these items is for people who do not want to construct on their plots and for those who were assigned a plot of 20 by 20 square meters but want to make it 20 by 30.”

He accused others of expanding their schemes beyond the originals.

“As a first-class plot, some individuals were allocated 40 by 40 square meters, but they often stretched it to 40 by 50 square meters.” Such an unauthorized expansion will be dismantled.”