A South Sudanese civil society body has raised concerns about the delayed formation of the national and state legislative assemblies by the Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity (RTGoNU).
Two weeks ago, President Salva Kiir’s advisor on security affairs and chairperson of the country’s National Transitional Committee (NTC), Tut Galuak Manime, said the legislative bodies were going to be formed within a week.
Jame David Kolok, the Executive Director of the Foundation for Democracy and Accountable Governance (FODAG) said a delay in the formation of parliaments violates provisions of the revitalized peace agreement.
“For us, even when you are in a primary school and you were asked what constitutes a government, people would say there are three organs which are the executive, the judiciary, and the parliament,” Kolok said. “One of the roles of the parliament, other than checking on the functions of the executive, is to pass many legislations within the content of the peace agreement.”
“Even if we are talking about elections, the absence of the parliament construed a violation of the implementation of the peace agreement and as civil society, we are concerned that something has to happen,” he added.
On the security arrangements, Kolok urged the presidency to urgently ensure the graduation and deployment of the unified forces currently in the cantonment and training centers.
“There are security concerns attributed to the absence of formidable unified forces because something that happens like community conflicts in Lakes state must be treated as a national issue and that is why we need the security arrangements to be pushed very quickly. We are grateful that in the recent army changes the president told the chief of staff to ensure the graduation of the unified forces,” Kolok said.
Several observers have warned about the lack of trust and political will among the peace partners in the implementation of the revitalized peace agreement.
Several internally displaced persons and refugees have repeatedly called on the parties to the peace agreement to ensure speedy implementation of the pact so they can return home.