VZCZCXRO3956
PP RUEHROV
DE RUEHKH #0688/01 0770647
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 180647Z MAR 06
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1922
INFO RUCNIAD/IGAD COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KHARTOUM 000688 
 
SIPDIS 
 
AIDAC 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR AF/SPG, PRM, AND ALSO PASS USAID/W 
USAID FOR DCHA SUDAN TEAM, AF/EA, DCHA 
NAIROBI FOR USAID/DCHA/OFDA, USAID/REDSO, AND FAS 
USMISSION UN ROME 
GENEVA FOR NKYLOH 
NAIROBI FOR SFO 
NSC FOR JMELINE, TSHORTLEY 
USUN FOR TMALY 
BRUSSELS FOR PLERNER 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: EAID PREF PGOV PHUM SOCI KAWC SU
SUBJECT:  KOSTI WHARF - BURSTING AT THE SEAMS 
 
 
------------------- 
Summary and Comment 
------------------- 
 
¶1.  On March 9, the USAID/Khartoum Internally Displaced 
Persons (IDP) Officer conducted a one-day visit to Kosti 
to investigate reports of huge crowds of returnees to 
Southern Sudan stranded at Kosti wharf for weeks.  The 
1,400 returnees at the wharf exceed its capacity of 750. 
USAID partner Adventist Development and Relief Agency 
(ADRA) and other humanitarian organizations are providing 
just enough services to keep the situation from becoming 
a disaster.  ADRA has improved the shelter facilities at 
the wharf in addition to providing food rations, 
supplies, water and sanitation facilities, and a health 
clinic. 
 
¶2.  The government-run River Transport Corporation (RTC) 
is severely lacking the operational and funding capacity 
to deal with the influx and shows no sign of improving 
soon.  There is no clear schedule of barge trips to the 
south.  Six pushers of 16 are functioning, and operate 
only at a maximum of 40 percent capacity.  Passenger 
travel on cargo barges continues unabated, although 
banned by national Ministry of Transport.  (Note:  The 
RTC requires travelers to sign an agreement releasing RTC 
from liability.  End note.)  According to RTC officials, 
critically needed equipment for repairing the pushers has 
been held in Port Sudan more than a month.  Meanwhile, 
returnees continue to arrive.  End summary and comment. 
 
------------------------------ 
Kosti Wharf Returnee Situation 
------------------------------ 
 
¶3.  Kosti is located 300 kilometers (km) south of 
Khartoum on the White Nile.  The town constitutes an 
important junction for both river and road transport to 
Southern Sudan and the western regions of Kordofan and 
Darfur.  Kosti wharf was one of the first way stations to 
be established to support spontaneous returns, and USAID 
and other donors provide a variety of service for 
returnees. 
 
¶4.  The post-Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) era has 
put significant pressure on the RTC and yielded an 
increased demand for cargo services.  A growing number of 
returnees have sought transport on cargo barges, which 
unlike passenger vessels allow passengers to carry 
luggage.  U.N. agencies are increasingly seeking cargo 
transport or hiring a cargo/passenger barge to move 
supplies to the south.  In addition, the Government of 
National Unity (GNU) and Government of Southern Sudan 
(GoSS) transport food on the barges, and soldiers from 
both Sudanese Armed Forces and the Sudan People's 
Liberation Army rely on barges and want to be given 
priority. 
 
¶5.  The wharf's capacity is visibly overstretched.  More 
than 1,400 people are crowded into an area designed for a 
maximum of 750.  The crowd continues to grow and there 
are no signs of change in the pattern of return.  Water, 
sanitation, and health services are still holding up 
despite increased strain.  Nevertheless, any water 
shortages in the city supply, which is the only source of 
water for the wharf, could lead to crisis and also affect 
the sanitation situation. 
 
¶6.   The wharf's current limited operational capacity 
does not appear likely to improve soon, as RTC sees no 
chances for increase in the number of trips, given the 
limited number and low capacity of pushers. 
Thirty-two engines for operating pushers arrived in Port 
Sudan in mid-February and were to be installed in 
collaboration with the Government of Germany.  The 
Ministry of Finance asked RTC to make a down payment for 
duties and other local taxes.  RTC did not advance 
payment, so the engines have not been released from Port 
Sudan.  A team of German engineers and technicians tasked 
with fitting the engines had arrived in Kosti, but has 
been unable to work without the engines.  According to 
RTC officials, Dutch government funds will support the 
 
KHARTOUM 00000688  002 OF 002 
 
 
assembly of 50 cargo and 5 passenger barges in Kosti. 
RTC is preparing the site for the project, which is 
expected to start as soon as the materials arrive in 
Kosti. 
 
¶7.  With support from the International Organization for 
Migration (IOM), ADRA is running a tracking and 
monitoring system that has identified more than 22,400 
returnees since July 2004.  The data is collected from 12 
tracking points covering both the river and road 
transport network passing through Kosti, Rebek, and other 
locations in White Nile State.  Enumerators managing the 
system reported that returnees frequently expect 
compensation of some sort in exchange for providing 
information. 
 
¶8.  In early 2006, the German Red Cross began operating a 
clinic at Kosti wharf in collaboration with the Ministry 
of Health (MOH).  The U.N. World Food Program (WFP) is 
scheduled to begin providing food for supplementary 
feeding programs for malnourished children and pregnant 
and lactating mothers in Kosti IDP camps.  WFP will also 
support therapeutic feeding in the main hospitals in 
collaboration with MOH, as well as school feeding 
programs in Kosti IDP camps for approximately 18,000 
children.  WFP is considering whether to give a half 
rations in IDP camps for the period of April to July. 
 
 
--------------- 
Recommendations 
--------------- 
 
¶9.  The few shelter facilities put in place by ADRA and 
others are already overcrowded.  Some returnees preferred 
staying under the trees rather than the shelters to avoid 
the crowds.  ADRA and other counterparts should prepare a 
contingency plan should the number of returnees continue 
to grow.  USAID will work with them on this and continue 
to monitor the situation closely. 
 
¶10.  Lobbying is needed at the Khartoum level to advance 
the humanitarian priorities and emphasize the urgent need 
for returnees to reach their destinations quickly and 
with dignity.  The Port Sudan bottleneck of pusher 
engines should be high on the priority list to increase 
the barge capacity on the Nile. 
 
¶11.  Some counterparts on the ground mentioned that the 
GoSS is encouraging people to return to the south.  The 
strained resources to support returnees and the 
possibility of a humanitarian emergency at the wharf 
should be made clear to the GoSS. 
 
HUME