President Salva Kiir will Thursday hold a public rally to explain to the public his decision to dissolve the existing state governments and create 28 new districts accountable to his office, a senior party official allied to him said Wednesday.

The president issued a decree Christmas Eve appointing governors for 28 new districts to replace the 10 states established by the country's 2011 constitution.

“The President of the Republic, General Salva Kiir Mayardit, will tomorrow Thursday hold a public rally at Dr. John Garang Mausoleum. He will explain to the people the objective and the basis of the creation of the 28 states,” said Acuil Malith Bangol, an SPLM advisor on political affairs and syndicated organizations.

“All the citizens are welcomed. Those outside the country will be accorded the opportunity to watch it live from different media of their choice,” Acuil noted.

Presidential Adviser on Decentralization and Intergovernmental Affairs Tor Deng Mawien confirmed that a public rally will be held on Thursday attended by Kiir and by all the newly appointed governors. Tor said the event was being organized by members of the national secretariat of Kiir's Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM-Juba), the ruling faction of SPLM.

“The president has been requested by the SPLM to speak to the people directly before the state governors leave for their respected states. I am sure the citizens would be happy to listen to their president on new political developments in the country. He will talk about peace and also the objective of more states and the benefits that will be obtained from it,” he explained.