47 SOUTHERN SUDANESE WILDLIFE OFFICERS REPORT FOR TRAINING IN KENYA

Date Published: 07 Oct, 2009

A total of 47 wildlife officers from Southern Sudan have reported for training in Kenya. Already, 16 of them had started a three-month training course in wildlife management and biodiversity conservation at the Kenya Wildlife Service Training Institute in Naivasha.  Another 31 are undergoing training in wildlife protection and law enforcement at the Manyani Field Training School in Tsavo.
 
Speaking during the opening ceremony yesterday, KWS Director Julius Kipng’etich said such training focused on building African capacity to sustainably benefit from her abundant wealth of natural resources. 

In a speech read by Ms Abshiro Halake, the Deputy Director in charge of Strategy and Change, Mr Kipng’etich noted that the institute contributed to the training of participants from many African countries. The training in wildlife management is part of the Kenyan Government’s technical support worth US$3.5 million dollars (Sh300 million) pledged in 2006 towards the reconstruction of Southern Sudan, following the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in Naivasha. A donors’ conference was later held in Oslo, Norway, to mobilize resources towards the reconstruction of Southern Sudan. 

More than 1000 officers from the Government of Southern Sudan have been trained in various sectors since then, under a three-year programme coordinated by Kenya Southern Sudan Liaison Office under the Office of the President. The programme ended in January this year but has been extended by another year.  The training in wildlife management is the first beneficiary of the extension.
Various trainings have been conducted at the Kenya Institute of Management, Multi-Media University and Kenya Institute of Mass Communication. In March this year, KIA opened a satellite branch in Juba, Southern Sudan, where 200 people have been trained. Some 25 Kenyan experts have also gone to Sudan to conduct more training in various fields, including public finance, management, health, telecommunication, education and human resources, among others.  

Mr Jervasio Okot from the Government of Southern Sudan said Kenya was a gateway to many sectors in Sudan and was looking forward to working with the East African Community.  He said: “We don’t need to go to Europe when our neighbour Kenya has the expertise to transform non-oil natural resources”.

The Kenya Southern Sudan Liaison Office was set up to address the special needs of Southern Sudan after the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in 2005. 

Background
The Naivasha-based Kenya Wildlife Service Training Institute is one the Kenya Wildlife Service training units. It was established in 1985 with support from the World Bank.