By Okech Francis
JUBA
South Sudan's first-ever traffic lights were officially unveiled in capital Juba on Wednesday.
"We have been planning on modernizing Juba city to make it equal to other cities in the world, and this is the first step," Juba Mayor Sarafino Wani Swaka said at the launch ceremony.
Solar-powered traffic lights were installed in roundabouts across the capital to direct the traffic flow, which often becomes congested.
"We shall ensure that traffic lights are operational and all drivers respect them," said Swaka.
"There are many drivers who don't respect the rules of traffic, especially the security forces, the police and the army, who force their way through the thickest traffic," he noted.
"We will put in place bylaws, which will be enforced so that drivers respect them," vowed Swaka.
Director-general of the country's traffic police, Maj. Gen. James Biel, issued a warning to would-be violators.
"We will ensure the sustainability of the traffic lights. Any reckless driver knocking the pillar will go to prison," he said.
Sensitization
Mayor Swaka, meanwhile, promised to organize orientation programs for drivers in collaboration with the traffic police.
"We will sit down with the police traffic department and devise a means of sensitizing the public to know the different lights are for what," he said.
The mayor hoped that the new traffic lights would lead to fewer accidents in the capital.
Gale Malam, a taxi driver who plies Juba's busy Custom-Gudele Road, said the new lights would regulate traffic flow.
"It will make driving easier if everybody respects [the rules]," he told Anadolu Agency. "But I think it will take time for people to realize that these lights are for their own good."
But Malam voiced doubts that police and army drivers would respect the new traffic lights.
"They want us to leave the way open to them every time and do not respect us," he said of police and army drivers. "When we cannot give way because other cars are passing, they jump down and begin beating people."
He urged the government to "instruct them on how to use the roads."
"I think they will not respect any traffic light," Malam asserted.
Another driver, Justin Abogu, welcomed the new traffic lights.
"We have been having problems passing the roundabouts," he told AA. "Cars always come from all directions, so it [the new lights] will help the cars to pass easily."
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