Sudan Co-op Elects First Board of Directors
(International Programs, March 10, 2010)

YECO General Assembly. February 27, 2010 - Yei, Sudan

YECO's First Board of Directors (circled in red from left to right) - Samuel Taban (Yeradni), Salah James (Sobe), Cosmas Luate (Sobe), Ackangelo Wani (Yerdani), Nickson Lomude (Yerdani), Bullen Gwagwe (Jigomoni), Monday Hellen (Jigomoni)

Yei Electric Cooperative (YECO) in Southern Sudan recently achieved a historic milestone: the elections and inauguration of its first board of directors.

The event, held February 27 as part of the co-op's first general assembly, drew ministry officials and a crowd of some 300 community members. Board members were inaugurated by the county commissioner of Yei.

Yei Project History
NRECA International, Ltd. began work in Yei in 2005 as part of a U.S. Agency for International Development project to revitalize the Southern Sudan region following decades of civil war. Yei, now a vibrant commercial center about 50 miles north of the Ugandan border, once served as the headquarters of the Sudan People's Liberation Army.

Ltd. has been assisted by the NRECA International Foundation, which over the years has recruited and sent 20 volunteers from U.S. cooperatives to help with construction, provide training to local crews and training to the co-op’s management. The process of establishing YECO as a legal entity took more than two years to complete, during which time NRECA managed the utility as a quasi-cooperative. By May 2008, NRECA handed the system over to the town of Yei.

The Way Forward
The installation of a democratically elected board represents a significant step forward for YECO's transition to self-sufficiency and stands as a major civic accomplishment for war-torn Southern Sudan.

YECO currently provides reliable power to more than 17,500 people. The newly installed board's short-term goals include obtaining financing that will allow it to expand coverage to more members of the Yei community. Long-term goals include institutional and financial sustainability for the co-op.