A five-day induction workshop for recently reconstituted National Constitutional Review Commission (NCRC) has kicked off in Juba.
The first workshop brings together members of the commission to review, revise, and adapt its internal operation instruments.
Riang Yer Zuor, Chairperson of the National Constitutional Review Commission, told Radio Tamazuj at the sideline of the meeting that the workshop, which began on Monday, will end on Friday.
“We are here to review, revise and adapt a work plan, and in that work plan, we will have a timeframe within which we can complete the work, which has not yet been determined,” Yer said.
“The preparation that we have done is with regard to the beginning and completing the constitutional-making process. That comes in a number of stages; there is a first stage that will involve the general public, and we will conduct civic education. We will conduct public consultations on certain constitutional issues, and this is when the first draft of the constitution will be made. Then we go to the second stage, where the National Constitutional Conference will deliberate on the draft constitutional text before it goes to the third stage,” he added.
Yer said the commission has not taken the main steps in the stages for drafting the new laws due to budget constraints.
“As soon as the budget is approved, we will begin to go out to do nationwide civic education campaigns, educating the citizens on a number of constitutional issues. Then, once we finish, we will go to consult with them to collect their views,” he said.
He assured the public that the review process will be people-driven.
“The process for drafting has begun, and the process has to be led by the people of South Sudan. This is going to be through civic education and public consultations and then the deliberation on the first draft by people representing all sectors of the South Sudanese society,” Yer said.
Meanwhile, Edmund Yakani, Executive Director of the Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO), said he expects the workshop to come up with a proper action plan for drafting a new constitution.
He called on the parties to put their political difference aside and open political space for the development of the new constitution.
“I expect a proper action plan for the constitution-making process, specifically on activities during the pre-constitution drafting stage where citizens have to be sensitized, civic engagement has to be carried out, and political parties have to talk about the constitution and present their proposals to citizens,” he said.
Yakani, a renowned civil society activist, appealed for an open civic and political space for effective citizen engagement in the constitution-making process.
“As a civil society, we are happy that our advocacy has yielded to the reconstitution review commission. We hope that the political parties will not interfere with the work of the commission. If they start bringing their party politics into the functions of the commission, that will paralyze the constitution-making process, and the constitution-making process is for the interest of the nation, not for the interest of the political parties,” Yakani said.