MERCY CORPS SOUTH SUDAN – FOOD SECURITY AND RESILIENCE FOR A STABLE SOUTH SUDAN (SECURE)

The program seeks to ensure 9,510 IDPs and vulnerable host community households have access to life-saving cash, WASH, and livelihood opportunities, addressing immediate food security needs and preventing the spread of the COVID-19 virus. The technical assessment for the maintenance of selected community feeder roads in Tonj South County and the rehabilitation and repair of dykes in Rubkona County was conducted to provide an understanding of the scope of work, labor requirements, time frame, and actual cost of the undertaking. The assessment also aimed to provide an overview of the priority needs regarding the feeder roads to be repaired and the dykes to be rehabilitated, and its relevance in enhancing food security and livelihoods for the beneficiaries. The assessment team visited various locations in Tonj South, including Thieth, Jak, Maker Padek, Manyangok, Aguka, and Wanhalel, to study the community feeder roads, design, and quantification of the intervention required. The baseline for this technical assessment for Tonj South was agreed upon and graded to come up with the most workable approach to get the best, practical solutions during this assessment. The total length of roads assessed was approximately 192.2 kilometers. In Rubkona, the baseline was guided by the information extracted during the debriefing meetings, where the assessment team noted that there are 27 dikes constructed by the government within the time water levels increased rapidly. The team was also informed that a new dyke was being established, but four of the 27 dykes are at critical levels and require immediate repairs. The assessment team found that most of the access roads had been swallowed up by the flood waters, and drainage channels had also been blocked or flooded, rendering cleaning or maintaining drainage channels not possible with the proposed CfW intervention. The assessment details, scope of works, and cost benefit analysis for Tonj South indicate that six roads were assessed, and the total length of roads is approximately 192.2 kilometers. The assessment team noted that the SOW cannot be implemented as a one-off intervention due to the re-occurrence of flooding in Bentiu/Rubkona. The proposed CfW intervention aims to contribute to the rehabilitation of critical community infrastructure, while also acting as an income boost to vulnerable groups in search of labor employment. The technical assessment team consisted of Mabeny Nyial Nyin, SRRC Field Supervisor, Tonj; Chirillo Chol Akok, SRRC Field Coordinator for Manyangok Payam, Tonj; Alfred Athian, Operation Coordinator, TOCH, Tonj; Laki Gideon, MEL Manager, Mercy Corps Juba; Raymond Obwoya Morris, Roving Engineer, Mercy Corps Juba; Hon. Duoth Franco, Deputy Chairperson Dyke Committee, Rubkona; and James Gatluak, FSL Officer, Mercy Corps Bentiu/Rubkona. The assessment team also had meetings with the county commissioner of Tonj, Hon. Marko Agor Malang, and the Dyke Committee comprised of the Relief and Rehabilitation Commission (RRC) that was represented by the Ag. Chairman Hon. Nhial Kam, the executive director Mr. John Juan, and the dyke deputy Chairman Hon. Duoth Franco. The mission debrief meeting was purely contextual in nature, as it pointed out the key intervention priority.