The Archbishop of Central Equatoria Province, Paul Pitia Yugusuk has urged the rival parties to expedite the assembly of government and opposition forces into the established cantonment sites.
Speaking during a church service at Emmanuel Cathedral in Yei, Archbishop Yugusuk argued that once the forces begin reporting to their designated cantonment sites, it will enable the citizens to build hope and thus support the implementation of the peace agreement.
The Archbishop said church leaders have been monitoring the peace process and are worried that slow movement of forces to assembly sites will delay the formation of the coalition government.
“We have visited all the cantonment areas and we are worried because we are left with only three months for the formation of the unity government. Nothing has been done in the cantonment sites and there are no services in those areas,” Yugusuk said.
“We are telling the government as people at the grassroots that there is slow implementation of the peace agreement,” he added.
The religious leader further said his counterparts across the region have been preaching the agreement to communities.
He encouraged the masses at the grassroots level to remain hopeful and support the implementation of the revitalized peace agreement.
“The agreement is for us all and we should not wait for the government to implements it. Let us support this peace. This time, we need improved security and we don’t want a situation where people are forced to go into the refugee camps again,” he stressed.
Last week, the Joint Defence Board (JDB) ordered the immediate assembly of government and opposition forces into the established cantonment sites.
In May, South Sudan’s rival leaders extended the formation of the unity government to November in order to implement key provisions such as creating a unified army and determining the number of states.