Keystone of JEN’s Support

Referendum for independence of South Sudan was held and the results per area were published without big trouble and deterioration of security which had been concerned.  More than 3.8 millions of people voted and 98% of them supported the independence.  After the legal procedure, the final result will release on Feb 14th.



It was greatly appreciated that the referendum was held peacefully, however, the deterioration of security had also been expected so that JEN had built a system in which local staff had initiative for the supporting operation from last summer. For instance, we delegated the authority to the local staff and they were in charge of most operation including some management.  In addition, international staff recognized the check points for the operation thus they were able to monitor from a distance whether the operation was appropriately carried out.




This time, although the international staff ran and controlled the project from Nairobi in Kenya until the final result was released, the preparation led success of smooth operation by local staff. The delegation of the authority let the local staff have stronger responsibility and work more independently, such as suggesting a practical plan.  We put great confidence on them.