The executive director of the Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO), Edmund Yakani, has called on President Salva Kiir and First Vice President Riek Machar to publicly declare the fine print of the proposed post-transitional period roadmap.

According to Yakani, this will reduce the public’s anxiety and stop the spread of rumors and conjectures.

The civil society activist told Radio Tamazuj Wednesday that it is wrong for both Kiir and Machar to remain mute on the matter which is now dominating public and social media platforms.

“The purpose as to why we are making this call now is that we have seen conflicting information going on in the media. The visiting delegation from Sudan headed by the Foreign Minister disclosed to Radio Tamazuj that the government of South Sudan, and particularly Kiir and Machar, have agreed to extend the transitional period, but what entails that extension has not been disclosed.”

Yakani said many people are making conflicting proposals on the matter through a myriad of media platforms based on unclear information.

“Some people are saying the principals have agreed to extend the lifespan of the transitional period for 38 months, others say 30 months and some are saying 28 months,” Yakani said, adding. “There is conflicting information and some people are even saying the structuring of the government has already been agreed upon and that the ministers will be reduced from 32 to 25 with 18 deputies and one administrative area.”

“We feel there is a need for the government to come out officially and communicate to the public the details of the extension of the transitional period,” he added.

He warned that the absence of official and credible information gives way to rumors.

Yakani however welcomed an extension of the transitional period.

“In principle, the concept of extension is the only option on the table if we need a timeline for conducting credible and peaceful elections, and also if we want to conduct a constitutional making process that is citizens driven and not rushed,” he opined. “The reality is that the timeline from now to the end of the lifespan of the agreement as stipulated in the 2018 agreement is 22 February 2023, which is short.”

The pre-transitional period was meant to be 8 months but was extended by another 6 months and 100 more days after that.

The Transitional Period began in Feb 2020 and up to now, security arrangements have not been completed. Elections are scheduled to be conducted 60 days before the end of the transitional period which is in December 2022 and yet many requisite laws are pending.