counties
A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...
in
Central Equatoria
Central Equatoria is a states of South Sudan, state in South Sudan. With an area of , it is the smallest of the original South Sudanese states. Its previous name was Bahr al-Jabal (also Bahr-el-Jebel), named after a tributary of the White Nile t ...
state,
South Sudan
South Sudan (), officially the Republic of South Sudan, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered on the north by Sudan; on the east by Ethiopia; on the south by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and Kenya; and on the ...
.
Morobo County borders Uganda and Congo. The county is mainly occupied by Kakwa speaking people, Keliko and
Lugbara Lugbara may refer to:
*Lugbara people
*Lugbara language
Lugbara, or Lugbarati, is the language of the Lugbara people. It is spoken in the West Nile region in northwestern Uganda, as well as the Democratic Republic of the Congo's Orientale Provi ...
. The people in Morobo are local farmers working for food. Morobo is part of the green belt and also acts as a
breadbasket
The breadbasket of a country or of a region is an area which, because of the richness of the soil and/or advantageous climate, produces large quantities of wheat or other grain. Rice bowl is a similar term used to refer to Southeast Asia; Calif ...
for
Yei
Yei River County is an administrative area in Central Equatoria with a large population of people who settled in that particular county.
Aggrey Cyrus Kanyikwa is the current commissioner for Yei River County. He was appointed by President Salva ...
and
Juba
Juba is the capital and largest city of South Sudan. The city is situated on the White Nile and also serves as the capital of the Central Equatoria, Central Equatoria State. It is the most recently declared national capital and had a populatio ...
.
There has been sporadic violence in Morobo County since the establishment of South Sudan at the end of the
Second Sudanese Civil War
The Second Sudanese Civil War was a conflict from 1983 to 2005 between the central Sudanese government and the Sudan People's Liberation Army/Movement, Sudan People's Liberation Army. It was largely a continuation of the First Sudanese Civil Wa ...
. The UN is working with locals to address these issues.
Joseph Mawa is the current commissioner of Morobo County.
Demography
Economy and livelihood
Morobo County is located in the state of
Central Equatoria
Central Equatoria is a states of South Sudan, state in South Sudan. With an area of , it is the smallest of the original South Sudanese states. Its previous name was Bahr al-Jabal (also Bahr-el-Jebel), named after a tributary of the White Nile t ...
. It is bounded to the north-west by Yei County, to the north-east by
Lainya County
Lainya is a county in Central Equatoria State, South Sudan.
The county is located in South Sudan's greenbelt and has fertile soil, making it an ideal location for agricultural activities. Morobo County, according to FEWSNET (2018), is in the equatorial maize and cassava livelihoods zone. Groundnuts, sorghum, milt, banana, cassava, and maize are among the most common and marketable crops grown in the region, but farmers frequently struggle to obtain quality seeds due to trade and transportation issues.
A REACH assessment in 2018 revealed that while 88% of the population had access to a functional market, 100% of the population was estimated to be receiving food aid, and 88% relied on subsistence agriculture to support their households. Furthermore, families in the area reported eating one meal per day on average. Due to "unsafe access to land," half of the population was reported to be food insecure. Aside from agricultural occupations, half of the population reported owning cattle. The county is also well known for mineral extraction in South Sudan. According to a
Cordaid
Cordaid is an internationally operating value-based emergency relief and development organization, mostly working in conflict-affected countries. It is one of the biggest international development organizations in the Netherlands, with a netwo ...
report published in 2016, there were approximately 5,000 artisanal gold miners operating in the area, but it is unclear how much of this number has been impacted by the conflict.
Climate
Morobo has a tropical savanna climate ( Köppen: Aw). It is warm every month with both a wet and dry season. The average annual temperature for Morobo is 29° degrees and there is about 981 mm of rain in a year. It is dry for 115 days a year with an average humidity of 68% and an UV-index of 6.
Climate Morobo by month
Infrastructure and services
Morobo County is located on the border with
Uganda
Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...
, making it a vital area for both human migration and trade.
Kaya
Kaya may refer to:
People
*Kaya (given name)
* Kaya (surname)
Places
*Kaya, Burkina Faso, a town in Burkina Faso, capital of the department
* Kaya Airport, serving the town
* Kaya Department, a department or commune of Sanmatenga Province in cen ...
is one of the county's unofficial migration points. However, insufficient infrastructure, particularly roads and affordable transportation options, limits Morobo residents' ability to expand their agricultural activities to commercial levels. Residents' ability to access their land for subsistence agricultural livelihoods has also been hampered by the area's insecurity. Insecurity in the area, particularly in 2017, has resulted in the deterioration of schools, clinics, and homes, as well as the destruction of crops.
According to
OCHA
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is a United Nations (UN) body established in December 1991 by the General Assembly to strengthen the international response to complex emergencies and natural disaster ...
's (2019) Humanitarian Needs Overview for 2020, Morobo County has an estimated 81,200 people in need, which is approximately 78% of the estimated population reported in the HNO. According to the same report, Morobo County has the highest level of recorded landmine and explosive remnants of war, which have proliferated as a result of the recent conflict in the Equatoria region. This is especially problematic given the high number of IDP border crossings in the area. Landmines have also made it difficult for residents to access basic services in the area, such as healthcare and schools.
Conflict dynamics
Prior to 2016, Morobo County had avoided the worst of the national conflict and was regarded as one of the most stable areas in the country. Armed militia robberies, on the other hand, were common and sometimes deadly. Because of its proximity to
Uganda
Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...
and the
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...
, the county is home to a large number of South Sudanese returnees from those countries. Due to border demarcation disputes, there was some tension between communities on both sides of the border with the DRC. According to local media reports, a conflict between residents near the border sparked by the alleged raising of DRC flags in Morobo villages was referred to the national government in May 2016. (Gilbert, 2016). When conflict erupted for the second time in 2016, Morobo County was one of the areas in
Central Equatoria
Central Equatoria is a states of South Sudan, state in South Sudan. With an area of , it is the smallest of the original South Sudanese states. Its previous name was Bahr al-Jabal (also Bahr-el-Jebel), named after a tributary of the White Nile t ...
where opposition forces fled and remained.
According to
VOA
Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is an international broadcasting network funded by the federal government of the United States that by law has editorial independence from the government. It is the largest and oldest of the American international ...
(2019), civilians were targeted by armed forces in addition to being caught in the crossfire between government and opposition forces. Attacks on humanitarian workers have also occurred in Morobo. Two aid workers were killed in April 2016 near Gulumbi Village. Armed groups kidnapped and killed three IOM staff monitoring the border for Ebola in Kaya, Morobo County, in October 2019. (IOM, 2019). This resulted in the indefinite suspension of border monitoring. Despite the signing of the R-ARCISS in 2018, the National Salvation Front (NAS), a non-signatory to the agreement, continues to operate in the area, causing insecurity in the county.
Education
Schools in Morobo County have faced challenges from conflict and the displacement of people from other areas.