The inhabitants of Leer County in Unity State on Monday celebrated the official handover of newly constructed health and education facilities to improve access to essential services.
The facilities include two hospital wards and an isolation unit at Leer County Hospital, as well as four classrooms, a store, staff and head teacher’s offices, and a toilet facility at Mary John Primary School.
The projects were funded by the World Bank under the Enhancing Community Resilience and Local Governance Project (ECRP), a multi-million-dollar development initiative in South Sudan designed to improve local service delivery, build essential community infrastructure, and strengthen local governance.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM), which implemented the project, and the construction company handed over the buildings to local authorities.
Addressing participants at the ceremony, Engineer Bayiak, an organization representative, confirmed the completion and handover of the facilities at Leer County Hospital and Mary John Primary School.
“The ECRP project came with a full set of construction. Today, we are handing over two hospital wards, one for females and one for males, plus one isolation unit inside the hospital premises,” he said.
For his part, Leer County Commissioner Major General Stephen Taker Riak directed relevant authorities and security organs to arrest and investigate anyone suspected of selling school construction materials in the market. The directive followed reports of the destruction of the school fence.
“There are measures to be taken against the persons who always destroy the school and hospital fences. I direct you to arrest any suspect with metal like that of the school fence,” he stated. “I urge you to report them to the office of the commissioner for accountability for their actions.”
Meanwhile, Gatjung Gatwang Tap of the Leer County Education Department urged pupils to work together to protect the newly constructed school facilities and avoid damaging school property.
“Previously, some of you studied under the trees. Today, you must protect your school. This school does not belong to anybody; it belongs to you, the pupils,” he said. “If you find anyone writing on the wall, you must immediately report them to the school administration or Education Department and receive the punishment accordingly.”
Nyarek Kuol Makuai, a women’s representative, thanked the government and development partners for supporting the construction of the health and education facilities.
“I am very happy with the handover of the hospital and education facilities to the local authorities. I thank the government and the organizations for constructing the hospital in our area,” she said. “Now there is no need for people to travel to different places for treatment when services are now available in our area.”
The Enhancing Community Resilience and Local Governance Project (ECRP) is currently supporting development activities in Leer and Rubkona counties, as well as the Ruweng Administrative Area.
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