By Yiep Joseph
The Transitional National Legislative Assembly (TNLA) has endorsed a plan to summon Minister of Land, Housing, and urban Development and the governor of Central Equatoria State.
The idea to summon the Minister was presented as a recommendation during the presentation of the motion on the Establishing Sustainable Cemetery Management point.
During the ordinary sitting no. 16/2025 held on Tuesday, lawmaker Nyayang Johnson Lok presented the motion on developing a framework to manage the cemeteries.
The MP, however, recommended the need to summon four ministries as well as the Juba City Council to answer why the country continues with no formal cemetery management framework.
According to Johnson, the current challenges surrounding cemetery management need immediate attention, and hence the concerned ministries have an answer.
“Recommendations to summon the following ministries to answer questions as to why the country has not established a national policy framework for sustainable cemetery management,” she said.
Among the four ministers summoned to appear before the parliament are the Minister of Land, Housing, and Urban Development; the Minister of Health; the Minister of Environment and Forestry; and the Minister of Culture, Museum, and National Heritage.
Despite the presence of those ministries, the management of burial sites continues to be poor, with no immediate framework to solve the challenges.
“Historically, cemetery management in South Sudan has been informal and poorly regulated,” Johnson said.
She added that the absence of a structured policy has encouraged illegal entitlement of burial grounds without planning for a new burial site.
In addition, the lawmaker added the name of the Juba City Council to the list of those summoned.
Johnson outlined other recommendations, such as legal and regulatory reforms, drafting and adopting a National Cemeteries Act to define cemeteries as protected public land, and establishing registration procedures for all burial grounds.
Mapping and listing Conduct a quick national audit of all known cemeteries and create a national cemetery registry for transparency, which also surfaced among key recommendations during the presentations.
The lawmaker expressed that community engagement consultation forums, as well as the establishment of an independent cemetery for martyrs of the South Sudan Peoples Defense Forces and other organized forces, should be put into consideration.
After the presentations on the framework, the parliament resolved to summon the ministers to address challenges surrounding cemetery management.
Lawmaker Bol Joseph Agau of the National Democratic Movement supported the motion and called for immediate intervention to resolve the crisis regarding burial sites.
“There must be land allocated for burials, because every urban area is occupied, and inhabitants don’t always bury people in the houses, like what happens in most of our villages,” he said.
On her part, Speaker Jemma Nunu Kumba said the crisis surrounding cemetery management remains a national problem that must be addressed.
“There is a need for a national policy on the establishment of cemeteries and the burial of the dead,” Nunu said.
“This is very important because when there is a policy, it can guide the institutions concerned.”
Kumba said the parliament would formally write to the ministers and the governor, summoning them in the coming days to explain if any plans are already in place.
The Central Equatoria officials will be expected to clarify if any land has been designated for a cemetery to serve the capital.