(Above) A cleanup exercise that happened at Yei Freedom Square. It has since extended to ther parts of the town, including Yei state hospital.
A massive government-led health cleanness campaign is underway in South Sudan’s Yei town as Christmas and New Year 2017 approach.
The first of its kind since the inception of Yei River state in 2015, the sanitation campaign features top government officials plus representatives from churches and development organisations.
On Monday, State governor David Lokonga Moses and brigade commander Chol Deng Chol led organized forces, including the police, fire brigade, wildlife, prison wardens, soldiers and citizens who turned out to clean Yei state hospital.
Speaking to TCT at the sidelines of the cleaning campaign in the hospital, Governor Lokonga said the clean-up calls for renewal of hearts and cleaning the environment to get rid of facilitators of diseases.
“We are starting with the hospital because it is one of the most important places. This is a good beginning and we have to know that as we get to the New Year, we have to be clean, clean in our town, clean in our hearts. Let us start reconciliation,” he said.
Lokonga called on South Sudanese to celebrate the festive season in the spirit of peace and sharing with one another. He announced that the exercise will be held after every two weeks. He appealed to health development partners to help the government to widen the campaign of keeping the town clean.
Brigadier Chol told the people of Yei to work hard and enhance the town’s reputation as ‘the second Saudi Arabia,’ as described by Arabs. He announced that individuals who will refuse to clean their homes and business premises would be punished accordingly.
“Let us combine our hands and clean our nation”, he said. “There are some citizens who fled Yei due to fear. We hope they will come back. They need to find it when it is clean,” he added.
Brigadier Chol reiterated that soldiers dressing in official attire and using guns while out of duty would face tough penalties.
“No soldier should drink while in full uniform. No drunken soldier should be seen moving on the streets,” he warned.
State Minister of Health and Environment, Kogo Manase Levi, described the health campaign as a preventive measure for the people of Yei from outbreak of water born diseases.
“We cannot be talking of health, if we don’t talk of the environment that surrounds us,” he said.
He expressed satisfaction with the exercise, which involved the entire cabinet of the state, the organized forces and the civilian population, in a bid to enter the New Year in a healthy way.