NGOs in South Sudan Required to Obtain Certificate Before Crossing to Rebel Areas

March 22, 2015 (KAMPALA) – The rebel humanitarian arm of the South Sudan Relief and Rehabilitation Agency (SSRRA) said it plans to issue operation certificates this week to all agencies or NGOs working in rebel-controlled control areas.

In a statement extended to Sudan Tribune on Sunday, SSRRA executive director Gatwech Peter Kulang said the exercise will target both national and international organisations. The certificates will be valid for six months.

The statement urged international organisation and locally run NGOs to recruits staff
from within the communities they are working in.

Kulang also called on both the UN and other NGOs operating in government-controlled areas to notify local officials before crossing into rebel-held territory.

Kulang stated all South Sudanese nationals currently working for the UN or other humanitarian agencies will be exempt from military service so that they may continue to contribute to the welfare of the civilian population.

The SSRRA has indicated that local and international humanitarian workers residing in rebel-held areas will be subject to a 5% tax charge as of 23 March.

All imported items for humanitarian projects will be exempt from payments to local custom offices.

Kulang urged humanitarian actors to abide by rules and regulations as laid out by opposition movement.

The order is the first to be implemented by the rebel faction after more than 15 months of conflict with the national government.

Thousands of people in rebel-controlled areas remain without basic health services following the eruption of violence in mid-December 2013.

Most of these areas are cut off from roads. Residents continue to be denied proper access to services due to the ongoing conflict, relying on humanitarian assistance to survive.

(ST)