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SOUTH SUDAN / SHEARER ROAD REHABILITATION
STORY: SOUTH SUDAN / SHEARER ROAD REHABILITATION
TRT: 03:17
SOURCE: UNMISS
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 12 DECEMBER 2017, JUBA, SOUTH SUDAN / FILE
28 OCTOBER 2017, MUNDRI, SOUTH SUDAN
1. Various shot, UNMISS vehicles stuck in mud
2. Various shots, peacekeepers shoveling dirt
12 DECEMBER 2017, JUBA, SOUTH SUDAN
3. Various shot, Shearer presser
4. SOUNDBITE (English) David Shearer, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of UNMISS:
“If the conflict ends, and I hope it does, infrastructure such as roads will help anchor peace by building prosperity.”
28 OCTOBER 2017, MUNDRI, SOUTH SUDAN
5. Various shots, commercial truck stuck in mud
6. Various shots, peacekeepers pulling truck from mud
12 DECEMBER 2017, JUBA, SOUTH SUDAN
7. SOUNDBITE (English) David Shearer, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of UNMISS:
“One of the reasons that we are focusing on the roads so heavily is that the World Food Programme wants to be able to be prepositioned more food for next year and it’s much easier to do that by road, than by doing it by air drops, and a lot cheaper. So, what we are trying to do is to extend the season by which people are able to use the roads by an additional month so that we are able to move more food into those areas where we think people are going to be facing food insecurity.”
28 OCTOBER 2017, MUNDRI, SOUTH SUDAN
8. Various shots, UNMISS patrol within Mundri
12 DECEMBER 2017, JUBA, SOUTH SUDAN
9. Various shot, Shearer presser
10. SOUNDBITE (English) David Shearer, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of UNMISS:
“The sooner peace comes, the more we are going to be able to get people back to their own farms, and onto their own land, and that will ease the humanitarian situation.”
28 OCTOBER 2017, MUNDRI, SOUTH SUDAN
11.Various shots, peacekeepers pulling overturned truck
An ambitious plan by United Nations engineers to repair main roads across South Sudan will improve security, enable traders and humanitarians to get food to needy communities, and build peace, according to the Special Representative of the Secretary-General in South Sudan, David Shearer.
At a press conference in Juba, Shearer, unveiled the plan to repair 2350 kilometers of road – double the work completed last year.
The work will be carried out by Bangladeshi, Chinese, Indian and South Korean peacekeeping engineers over the dry season.
Fixing the roads will enable UNMISS patrols to go deeper into trouble spots to deter violence, protect civilians, and give displaced people the confidence to return home.
SOUNDBITE (English) David Shearer, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of UNMISS:
“If the conflict ends, and I hope it does, infrastructure such as roads will help anchor peace by building prosperity.”
Road repairs will also improve access for local traders and humanitarian agencies getting food and relief supplies to vulnerable communities.
SOUNDBITE (English) David Shearer, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of UNMISS:
“One of the reasons that we are focusing on the roads so heavily is that the World Food Programme wants to be able to be prepositioned more food for next year and it’s much easier to do that by road, than by doing it by air drops, and a lot cheaper. So, what we are trying to do is to extend the season by which people are able to use the roads by an additional month so that we are able to move more food into those areas where we think people are going to be facing food insecurity.”
South Sudan only has 215 kilometres of tarmac roads in a country the size of France. A journey from Juba to Bentiu, in the far north, is 1000 kilometres but takes 14 to 20 days in the dry season. In the rainy season, the road is impassable.
While the Government is primarily responsible for maintaining roads, UNMISS has stepped in to help because a functioning road infrastructure is vital for economic development.
SOUNDBITE (English) David Shearer, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of UNMISS:
“The sooner peace comes, the more we are going to be able to get people back to their own farms, and onto their own land, and that will ease the humanitarian situation.”
WFP and UNOPs will carry out specialist, more permanent, repairs on the critical routes that UNMISS is working on and will rehabilitate other roads, depending on funding from donors.
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