Posted in Africa, Stories that I wrote at work on June 22, 2010| 2 Comments »
I wrote this story for “In Sudan” magazine June 2010 edition. To see the full magazine please click on the image below & my story is on page 14.
Touted as having huge potential for post-war earnings in Southern Sudan, fishing is a rapidly growing business in the riverside town of Malakal. “Malakal people like to eat fish. We can eat fish everyday because it is cheaper than meat,” noted Upper Nile State Director of Animal Resources and Fisheries Administration and Finance Cornelius Aywok.
North Malakal fisherman Abon Aton makes an average of 80 to 100 SDG ($32 to $40) selling his catch at Hai Matar market.
“The fishing business is good in Malakal,” said Mr. Aton. Depending on their size, he sells six to eight tilapias for 5 SDG ($2).
Other fish he may reel in from the White Nile waters include perch as well as indigenous fish like Beyada, Bajrus, Bitkoya-Citharsinus and Dabis-Labeo.
The price of fish varied depending on its state, said Mr. Aywok. His department had set prices of 10 SDG ($1.4) for 1 kilogram of fresh fish, 3 SDG ($1.2) per bundle of sun-dried fish and 1 SDG ($0.4) for one wet, salted fish.
The wages he earns as a fisherman allows 17-year-old James Aban to support his parents and four sisters in a distant village. “I come from Dollieb Hill of Upper Nile State … I bring my money to them (his family) every time I go back home.”
James Aban with his daily catch in Malakal.
To regulate the industry, Mr. Aywok noted that the department issued an annual licence to registered fishermen for SDG 96 ($38.4).
Although many of the town’s people depended on fishing, only 101 fishermen were currently licensed, the ministry director said. “We have 31 fishermen in North Malakal, 29 in Central Malakal, and 41 in South Malakal.”
Fishermen who failed to obtain licenses, generally those living in the town temporarily, were taxed 5 per cent on their earnings, he added. “If one non-licensed fisherman wants to sell 50 kilos of his fish to the market, he has to pay 5 per cent of the total price … to the State Fisheries Department.
”The department holds monthly meetings with team leaders from North, Central and South Malakal fishing groups to discuss current activities, challenges, and support they may need from the government.
But the state government has only been able to offer fishermen limited assistance.
“We don’t have a budget to support them with fishing equipment like hooks and nets,” Mr. Aywok said.
Fisherman at work in Malakal
“We (also) can’t provide security on the river,” he added. “Some fishermen have been looted or even killed while they were fishing. This happened for various reasons, but mostly (due to) tribal clashes.”
The department has also faced obstacles in developing fishing into a revenue-earner for the state.
“Before the war, we used to export our fish to Juba,” Mr. Aywok said. “We had fish camps in Manyo and Panyikang counties. But because of war we closed those camps and were unable to breed fish anymore. Unfortunately, we don’t have a budget to get new equipment.”
But Malakal fishermen are receiving some support from UN agencies and nongovernmental organisations, including the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), World Vision and International Relief and Development.
FAO Agriculture Field Officer John Awet said his organization was training fishermen in the state. “We teach them how to make fishing nets, how to preserve fish – either sun-dried or smoked — and how to sell them.”
FAO distributed fishing twine and hooks to 10,000 Upper Nile households in 2009. “We expect them to be able to produce sufficient food for themselves and produce income by selling it to the market. This may create employment too, once they can develop businesses,” said Mr. Awet.
The copyright of this story solely belongs to UNMIS. If you are interested to republish it please contact unmis-insudan@un.org for permission.
Posted in Africa, Stories that I wrote at work on April 16, 2010| 6 Comments »
I wrote this story for “In Sudan” magazine April 2010 edition. You can find this article on page 6 of the full magazine below.
Though they live beside the banks of the Nile River, Malakal residents still find access to clean water a daily challenge.
In 2007, the Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS) established a unit called the Urban Water Department within the Upper Nile State government’s Ministry of Physical Infrastructure to improve water supply in the city.
“We have been supplying up to 6,000 cubic metres per day to residents,” said Urban Water Department’s Deputy Director Peter Nhia Gai.
But the majority of Malakal residents continue to use untreated water from the river, according to UNICEF Water and Sanitation Specialist Eissa Mustafa.
“The 6,000 cubic metres of clean water are not enough for the entire population of Malakal,” noted Mr. Mustafa. The 2008 Sudan Population and Housing Census estimated the population of Malakal County at 126,483.
“The distribution network is not well established,” he said. “There are so many households (without) clean water connections.”
The city’s Central Water Station, currently under renovation, distributes water to three points known as Dar Salam, Central Malakal and North Malakal.
Malakal girl carrying jug from water point.
Built in 1937, the station and its network supply infrastructure collapsed during the country’s second civil war. The aging water station failed to resume full operations until the founding of the Urban Water Department three years ago.
The United States Agency for International Development provided a new pump and water treatment chemicals to the department, which now relies on government funds for its day-to-day operations.
“The funding is only enough to pay the employees and to buy fuel to run the water station from 6 a.m. to 12 noon,” said Mr. Gai of the department. “We are supposed to run it for 12 hours.”
He added that the government has also been unable to provide water treatment chemicals like chlorine and aluminium sulphate.
The department charges a monthly fee for its service. “Each household with access to tapped water pays 15 Sudanese pounds per month,” said Mr. Gai. “However, this amount has not been enough to cover the cost of operations.”
The Urban Water Department has received support from different development partners. UNICEF, which tried to renovate the Central Water Station in 2003, supplies water treatment chemicals to the department and runs a chlorination project that teaches local residents how to treat the Nile River water.
Water treatment unit, Malakal.
The UN agency supplies the city with 80,000 litres of clean water each day through two distribution points in the Upper Nile State capital, according to Mr. Mustafa.
It has also installed water distribution pipes and donated clean water tanks to schools and hospitals.
The French non-governmental organization Solidarités has opened eight water distribution points in Malakal since it commenced operations in the city in 2007.
Solidarités treats the water and delivers it by truck to distribution points on a daily basis.
“We supply on average 2,000 to 5,000 litres of water every day,” said Solidarités Programme Manager Julien Racary. “Each water point has a different capacity depending on the needs of the community.”
When the renovation of the water station is completed, said Mr. Gai, it will be capable of supplying 10,000 cubic metres of water each day.
But there is no such thing as a free lunch, especially when it comes to H2O. The department official says the cost of the service to consumers may more than double at that point to 40 Sudanese pounds a month.
The copyright of this story solely belongs to UNMIS. If you are interested to republish it please contact unmis-insudan@un.org for permission.
The Window... 