South Sudan, Uganda to re-map border
Foreign Affairs state minister Oryem Okello speaks to journalists in Gulu Town at the weekend. PHOTO BY JOHN OKOT
Gulu- Uganda and South Sudan officials have started educating residents living on the 2,115km stretch of land that separates the two countries as they prepare to demarcate the boundary.
In 2014, the two nations signed a memorandum of understanding to demarcate the border after residents living on both sides claimed ownership of some of the land, leading to sporadic clashes.
The 10-day education exercise, which was launched in Gulu Town at the weekend, started yesterday and will be followed by the demarcation processes by surveyors and an 18 man-committee from both countries.
Speaking at the launch, Foreign Affairs state minister Oryem Okello stressed that demarcation will be done mainly in the areas where violence has been rampant.
Mr Oryem Okello said the exercise will boost regional trade and put to an end tension between the two countries. He said the same education exercise was carried out last year in Juba, South Sudan.
“The main aim we are carrying out this exercise is for the future generation so that the communities in both countries are able to live without conflicts,” Mr Oryem Okello said.
The state minister said the exercise will largely be funded by the African Union.
South Sudan minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Marial Benjamin Barnaba said the demarcation will be done using the colonial map and geological information in archives.
“We shall consult old maps and data that were used by our colonial masters in the 1920s to conduct the exercise. This process will not displace any one once the exercise is finalised,” Mr Barnaba said.
