New Tonj governor says priority is uniting communities

Akec Tong Aleu, governor of the newly declared ‘Tonj State’, said Saturday one of his priorities will be to reconcile and unite the feuding communities in Tonj East County and elsewhere in the state. “One of my priorities will be to reconcile our people, especially the two communities of Tonj East County,” said Akec when asked what will be his priorities upon returning to the area to assume duties as the first governor. He explained, “We need them to reconcile for them to be able to work together with the government to address issues of peace and development. We need our people to take agriculture seriously.” Akec was caretaker governor of Warrap State until President Kiir declared the state should be broken into three parts and he named Akec as governor of the lower part of the state, comprising only Tonj East, South and North counties. According to Akec, the creation of more states by the president was a response to the demand of the people including people from Greater Tonj to create more administrative units to “take the town to the villages”. Related: Interview with Tonj North Commissioner Tito Sijin (Arabic audio) Share on Facebook Share on X