Ambassador Olkkonen attends Land, Local Government Acts Review Workshop in Juba
The European Union Ambassador to the Republic of South Sudan today attended the opening of a high-level consultative workshop on the review of the Local Government Act (2009), the Land Act (2009) and the enactment of a Settlement and Registration Act.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Ambassador Timo Olkkonen underlined the importance of good governance at all levels and shared Europe's experience in ensuring that laws guarantee the principle of the common good and decentralisation.
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"In the European Union, we have the principle of 'subsidiarity'. It refers to the division of powers between different levels of authority and guarantees a degree of independence for a lower authority in relation to a higher body, or for a local authority in relation to central government," Ambassador Olkkonen said at the event, which First Vice President Dr Riek Machar also attended.
"The principle of subsidiarity states that decisions in society should be taken at the lowest competent level. In other words, problems are best solved at the level where they arise. I would like to stress the importance of a participatory and inclusive process to build consensus and social support for legislative improvements and to strengthen good governance at all levels. In this regard, I hope that this workshop will be a starting point for such a process in relation to the Local Government Act, the Land Act and the Settlement and Registration Act."
Hon. Justice Ruben Madol, Minister of Justice, Gabriel Leonte, Head of Cooperation of the European Union Delegation to South Sudan as well as representatives of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) also attended the consultative workshop.
The workshop organised by the IOM South Sudan, is supported by the EU-funded Access to Education, Livelihoods and Peace Programme, implemented by three UN agencies (IOM, UNICEF and WFP) in close coordination with national authorities and local governments in two states - Western Bahr el Ghazal and Warrap. The programme recognises the important role that local government authorities, including state, county and payam levels, and related traditional leadership structures can and should play in ensuring that durable solutions are put in place.