Dr. Riang Yer Zuor, the Chairperson of the National Constitutional Review Commission (NCRC), has said not much has been done due to a lack of funds for the institution to carry out its work.
In an exclusive interview with Radio Tamazuj, the NCRC head said the entity has not yet received any funds from the government to commence its work but is engaged in preliminary preparations to undertake its mandate.
According to Dr. Riang, the whole budget requested by the Commission is US$43 million to cater for the national constitution conference, the constituent assembly and other activities.
Below are edited excerpts:
Q: Dr. Riang, could you update the public on the work of NCRC?
A: Thank you, Radio Tamazuj, for the question. Actually, not much has been done since the last time that we spoke to the public through you in April, but from July, we have carried out a number of trainings and addressed a number of constitutional issues. We tackled the issue of judicial independence, federalism, separation of powers, local government, traditional authority and the role of the media in constitution making, and we did this to ensure that the members of the commission are empowered in anticipation of the interaction with the public during the civic education and public consultations.
The other thing is that there has been a bit of funding extended to us by the government, just to keep us moving. The budget that we had submitted during the last financial year had not gone through parliament, so it has to be resubmitted for the new fiscal year, but we have to keep running before that money comes. That is why some money was given to us as an advance for establishment purposes.
We have an issue with renovation of the premises. We do not have a storage for civic education materials, we do not have properly equipped offices and meeting halls, but then we requested UNDP to help us with the renovation and we gave them a very comprehensive list due to their financial constraints. The main office building has been renovated and made functional, the main meeting hall has been extended but part of the hall requires a lot of work. The CDC meeting hall has been put in place by UNDP but there are no offices. The rest of the offices have not been renovated so the plan that we have now is to spend that money on the renovation of those offices and the building of new ones plus the storage.
We are also thinking of installing a solar system so that we have a reliable source of power, but we are not sure if that money will be enough.
Q: How much were you given by the government?
A: 1.2 billion South Sudanese Pounds.
Q: Initially you said 18 months were enough to complete your task. With the pace at which things are moving, do you think that is tenable?
A: That plan remains the same, but it all depends on the availability of funds. We told you last time that it will take us 18 months to complete the process, but those 18 months begin from when the funding comes and it also depends on whether that funding is not interrupted.
Q: After the renovation, what next?
A: After the renovation, we will be ready to launch civic education but that nationwide campaign will require the money from the government, the partners can only support. Therefore, we have not gone through that process yet because there is no money for the constitution making.
Q: Is your biggest challenge now the finance to start your work?
A: That is the main problem that we are facing.
Q: Could you please remind our listeners and readers the amount of money that you need to complete the process and how much more do you need after you recently received 1.2 billion SSP to start the actual constitution review?
A: The whole budget requested is US$43 million. That caters for the activities of the commission, the CDC, the proprietors’ subcommittee, the activities of the national constitution conference, the constituent assembly and this goes through three stages.
Q: So, how much have you so far received out of the US$43m?
A: 1.2 billion SSP, which the government says was an equivalent of US$800,000 at the rate of the bank.
Q: So, is your work now at a stand still?
A: What we have received is not even one percent, so the whole amount is still needed.
Q: So how much money do you need to start the civic education?
A: There is no way of saying that out of US$43 million we need this much to start civic education. I think the whole thing is a package.
Q: What is your message to the government and the public?
A: My message to the government is that let the process be expedited. When I say process, I mean the budgetary process so that the money becomes available for us to start the main task of the constitution making. That is the responsibility of the government and the government must meet that. We can only ask partners to support what the government has started
My message to the people of South Sudan is that yes, the constitution making is led and owned by the people and when we have not come to them, let them not think that they were being left behind. It is just that the process has not yet taken off. Thank you!