The IGAD Council of Ministers has given South Sudan’s rival parties 15 days to break the deadlock over state allocations.

This comes after talks over responsibility sharing at the state and local governments ended in stalemate earlier this month despite attempts by the body monitoring the peace agreement to mediate.

The peace deal says responsibility sharing at state and county levels shall be 55% for President Salva Kiir’s side, SPLM-IO 27%, SSOA 10% and OPP 8%.

In a communique passed during a meeting on Thursday, the IGAD Council of Ministers gave the rival parties until May 7 to make extra efforts to resolve the deadlock over the issue of states.

The IGAD Council of Ministers expressed concern over delays in the completion of some important pre-transitional tasks such as the reconstitution of the transitional parliament.

The council urged President Salva Kiir to dissolve the incumbent parliament before April 30, and called upon the parties to reconstitute the transitional parliament in accordance with the peace deal within 10 days of the dissolution of the incumbent parliament.

The communique urged Kiir to undertake the necessary consultations with concerned officials and organs in accordance with the peace deal or the country’s transitional constitution while making public political appointments.

The IGAD ministers encouraged all parties to ensure that the 35% women representation is respected and adhered to in future nominations to various public offices.

The communique also urged the unity government to demonstrate its commitment to sustainable peace in South Sudan by immediately disbursing the required funding for pending transitional security arrangements related tasks.

The council welcomed the signing on 13th February 2020 of the Rome Resolution on Monitoring and Verification of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement of 2017, between the South Sudan Opposition Movement Alliance (SSOMA) and the previous government, and endorsed it with a view to create a conducive environment for an all-inclusive peace process in South Sudan.