The South Sudan National Chamber of Commerce, Industry, and Agriculture on Tuesday extended its term in office for another 3 years until 2027, attributing the delay to an unconducive environment to hold elections.
The extension comes following a meeting held in Juba on Tuesday that brought together the chairpersons and the members of the chamber of commerce from all ten states and the three administrative areas.
Speaking to the media after the extension, the chairperson of the South Sudan National Chamber of Commerce, Losidik Lukak, said the leadership of the national Chamber of Commerce agreed to extend their term in office for another three years and urged the members from the states and the three administrative areas to continue with their normal duties.
We, as national Chamber of Commerce leadership, have gathered here to extend the term by three years, and all states and the administrative areas should take note of this,” he said. “I thank the representatives from the ten states and the three administrative areas for their coming to participate in this important meeting for the extension, they have participated fully and the things we are doing here are going back to the states because states are the first to agree for the extension.”
Lukak added: “If there is peace and the country’s condition improves, we will conduct an election after the three years but if the board of directors says it should be extended, we have nothing to say, but for me as Lukak, I am stepping down because this thing has a lot of challenges, do not see this thing as easy.”
For his part, Robert Pitia, speaking on behalf of the chairpersons of the states and the three administrative, welcomed the extension, reiterating that conditions were not in place for elections and promised that the three years would give them time to bring positive change.
“I am representing the ten states and the three administrative areas for the extension of the Chamber of Commerce term for three years. We came to witness and confirm and to say yes to the extension,” he stated. “We are going to do our best to make sure things change in the next three years. It is not our own making, but it is the situation. For example, some states have problems like insecurity and this election should be done in all the states and the three administrative areas. Some of the challenges we face include economic and environmental issues affecting some states.”
Pitia clarified that the current leaders will not remain in office forever but want competent people to take over from them through democratic elections that can bring positive transformation to the South Sudan National Chamber of Commerce.
He urged the government to create a peaceful environment across the country to promote agriculture and improve the economy.
The South Sudan National Chamber of Commerce, Industry, and Agriculture extended the term of its leadership for two years in October 2022.