The parties to the South Sudanese peace agreement will meet this week to select ministerial portfolios for the new power-sharing government, according to the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission.

JMEC Chairman and former Botswana President Festus Mogae returns to South Sudan this Wednesday to participate in the meeting the same day.

Under the terms of the August 2015 peace deal, the ruling party in government must retain 16 ministries, the SPLM-IO will be given 10 ministries, the SPLM-Former Detainees will be given two ministries and other political parties will take two ministries.

Chapter 1, Article 10.5.1 of the peace deal explains that the each of the parties to the agreement will nominate a minister on a rotational basis. The government chooses the first ministry that it wants, followed by the SPLM-IO which chooses next, then the SPLM-FD, and so on.

In an interview today, JMEC Deputy Chief of Staff Aly Verjee said, “This is an important step toward establishing a transitional government.”

He also highlighted an upcoming meeting of the Ceasefire and Transitional Security Arrangements Monitoring Mechanism, also on Wednesday, calling the mechanism “very important.” CTSAMM is currently chaired by a retired Ethiopian general who reports to the commission chaired by Mogae.

JMEC itself, which comprises representatives of all the signatories, guarantors and other stakeholders, will meet next on 12 January. This will come after a meeting of the Joint Military Ceasefire Commission on 11 January, according to Verjee.

The secretariat official further reiterated Mogae's commitment to visit other parts of South Sudan, following his recent trips to Juba and Bor, though he declined to provide details of the travel plans saying they are not yet finalized.

File photo: The Ministry of Wildlife, Conservation and Tourism in Juba