By Zephania Ubwani

Arusha — East African Community (EAC) officials say they are shocked by renewed fighting in South Sudan which until yesterday had claimed hundreds of lives.

“We don’t know exactly what is happening in Juba and not aware of what’s going on,” remarked an official of the Secretariat when reached for comment.

Nevertheless, he said, the deteriorating security in the country which was recently admitted into the bloc was a setback to the EAC and efforts underway to integrate it into the community.

He hinted that senior executives at the Arusha-based secretariat are likely to consult today in order to assess the situation which has raised deep concerns across the entire bloc and possibly issue a statement.

“What’s happening in South Sudan is not good at all and we hope both sides will lay down arms,” he said on condition of anonymity, noting he was encouraged by the televised overtures made by President Salva Kiir and his Vice President Riek Machar on the weekend to end the clashes.

He added that renewed fighting had come at a time when EAC was contemplating to send its team of officials to assess the level of readiness of the strife-torn country to integrate with EAC after its admission into EAC on March 2 and signing of an Accession Protocol by President Kiir in Dar es Salaam in April.

A business consultant based in Arusha, Mr Simon Mapolu, said the current deadly clashes in South Sudan were enough reflection of the deep mistrust between forces loyal to President Kiir and those aligned to Dr Machar.

“They have no trust of each other…they don’t trust each other. There is no element of trust,” he told The Citizen by telephone, describing the situation as “unfortunate” for an infant country and a setback for EAC.

“With South Sudan’s admission, we had expected to widen market for our commodities but now this can end up in smoke,” he said, praying for the end of the clashes so that the entry of the country into the EAC is formalized before the end of the this year.

The executive secretary of the Tanzania Association of Tour Operators (Tato), Mr Sirili Akko, called for quick intervention of EAC and the African Union (AU) in the latest wave of violence for its newest member.

“It’s time for the AU and EAC to act on the situation. Countries selling arms cannot resolve the crisis,” he said, implying that intervention into Juba to end the fighting should not be left to donor countries alone.

Source: All Africa

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