The Causes And Consequences Of Rural-Urban Migration And Strategic Planning In Juba Metropolitan,of South Sudan

Migration is the movement of people from one ecological region to another;it may be on temporary or permanent basis.The movement of people from rural to urban areas is a common episode in South Sudan leading to rapid deterioration of the rural economy and food insecurity.The rate of rural-urban migration into Juba metropolitan area has been unprecedented in the post drought,famine and the Civil war conflict in the South Sudan and has led to over population leading to proliferation of new informal settlements all over the city and creating considerable strain on public utilities.This research studies focused on the causes and consequences of rural-urban migration and its strategic planning in Juba Metropolitan,Republic of South Sudan.However,the specific objective is to examine the major determinant factors(Causes)of rural-urban migrants to leave their place of origin and move to Juba town,assess the consequences of in-migration particularly on housing,employment and socio-economic conditions,identify the dominant migratory groups on the basis of age,sex,educational standards and marital status and finally propose some strategic planning(mitigation measures)Due to time and financial constraints,stratified random sampling of 500 household methods on the basis of existing payam(districts)was used to divide the study area into three zones of Juba,Kator and Munuku.Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used to generate data through primary and secondary sources and the data generated data were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively using Statistical Package for Social Scientists(SPSS).Data collected through the open-ended items,responses of interviewees,personal observation and Focus Group Discussion(FGD)were considered during data analysis.The findings of the study show that Munuki payam covers most of the migrants.The study also reveals that males migrate more than the females in Juba and migration is high within the age cohorts of 15-20 years,25-30 years,and 35-40 years old respectively.Furthermore,the study revealed that the propensity to migrate is directly related to educational attainment.It can be inferred from the findings of the study that the majority of migrants in Juba Metropolitan migrated in search of employment,others migrated to continue their education,others migrated due to the poverty and famine in their place of origin,and while on the other hand,some migrants migrated to Juba because of insecurity.Apart from the mentioned factors,other migrants migrated in search for basic amenities,join relatives and get married.However the flow of migrants to Juba Metropolitan has experienced problems such as a shortage of housing,unemployment,increasing cost of living and lack of social services.This means,until the imbalance or disparity in socio-economic development between the rural and urban areas are removed,no amount of persuasion or force can put a stop to rural urban migration and its' multiplying effects in Juba Metropolitan.By using the strategic planning for new development area or zone in Juba city which is based on manufacturing,agriculture and mining,logistic and tourism can provide the economic zone to juba city in order to reduce rate of unemployment and reduce informal settlement within Juba city.The policy of creating job and providing good accommodations to the local community of Juba city through the attraction of investors in Juba city and with giving some of the land to the investors with low price can provide good solution to reduce the flow of migrants from rural area to Juba metropolitan area of south Sudan.In general,the rural-urban migrants migrated to Juba is basically in search of economic betterment at place of their destination.Therefore,there is need for integrated rural development strategy to increase agricultural production by increasing rural labor productivity by improving farm technology,increasing farm inputs such as fertilizers,high yielding variety of seeds,insecticides,adequate agricultural extension services,price incentives and improve access to financial credit and market facilities.Finally,the future research should focus and strategize well on the role of poor rural communities? economic situation in the decision-making process in regards to migration and in depth studies on the main factors contributing to rural-urban migration as well as its long term strategic planning for South Sudan.