Peace parties urged to regularly update public on progress

By Sheila Ponnie
A civil society activist has called on signatories to the Revitalized Peace Agreement to regularly update the public on progress in the implementation of the deal.
The Executive Director of Community Empowerment for Progress Organization, Edmund Yakani made the call on Tuesday, saying rumours regarding the slow implementation of the peace deal were growing among the general public.
On September 12, 2018, South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir and his former vice president Dr. Riek Machar signed a peace deal to end the civil war that started in 2013, killing thousands and displacing millions within and outside the country.
According to the Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan, the transitional government was to be implemented in two phases where government and opposition forces will be trained and united.
National institutions will also be reformed to usher in an election at the end of the three-year transitional period.
However, Edmund says that the parties to the agreement are behind schedule in implementing provisions of the deal.
He argued that keeping the public updated on the execution of the peace deal is vital to preventing rumors.
He warned that if not debunked, the peace process would be derailed by wild false information.
“Recently false information about the responsibility sharing negotiation is spreading across the nation, this misinformation is misleading public opinion and causing meaningless political tensions,” Yakani said.
Since President Salva Kiir announced his peace cabinet in March this year, other branches of the government are yet to be set up.
Upper Nile state remains without a governor and the national legislature has yet to be reconstituted.
The appointed state governors have also not formed their governments.
According to political analysts, delays to fully form the Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity as per the 2018 peace deal has left many members of the public questioning politicians why they are dragging the peace process.
Last week, the peace parties claimed that their representatives confirmed that they have resolved the concerns of responsibility sharing at local government levels.
But negotiations are said to be ongoing over the cabinet, parliamentary, and independent commissions’ seats at both national and state levels.
Activist Yakani urged the committee tasked with finalizing the responsibility sharing on the remaining political seats to regularly update the public on the peace process.
He further appealed to the peace parties to honor the thirty-five percent share for women’s appointments to various political seats at the national, state, and local government levels.
Chapter One, Article 1.4.4 of the revitalized peace agreement states that the participation of women in the Executive shall be observed.
Particularly in their nomination to the Council of Ministers, the deal obligates the incumbent government to nominate no fewer than six women; the SPLM/A-IO to nominate no fewer than three women, and SSOA to nominate no less than one woman.
However, the incumbent government and the South Sudan Opposition Alliance (SSOA) failed to fully adhere to these provisions.
“CEPO is not ready to tolerate any more violation of the 35% for women at all legislative and cabinet, local government, the council of states and the independent commission,” Yakani said.
The activist added that through his organization CEPO, they will roll out monthly State Stability and Peace Forum in each state to update the public about the peace process.
“We feel that a regular accurate briefing of the public on the political process for finalizing the formation of the unity government is better than political rumors and gossips that are taking at present,” Yakani added.