South Sudan President Salva Kiir Mayardit and opposition leader Riek Machar agreed today to form the transitional government in the country by the deadline for that, which is tomorrow, Saturday, after the matter was postponed twice since the signing of the peace agreement in September 2018.
The announcement of Salva Kiir and Riak Machar came after a meeting that brought them together in the capital of the country, Juba, and the President of South Sudan said that he would appoint the opposition leader as his deputy tomorrow, Friday, before forming the government and would provide protection for all former opposition members.
Salva Kiir stressed that security arrangements are one of the difficult issues in the peace agreement.
The agreement, signed in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa in the presence of the heads of state of the East African Development Authority (IGAD), provides for an eight-month pre-transition period to accomplish some of the security, administrative and technical tasks and arrangements required by the peace process, and the pre-transitional period ends with the announcement of a transitional government for a period 36 months, then presidential and parliamentary elections.
Government functions
For his part, the leader of the popular movement, Riek Machar, said that he agreed with the president that the next government will solve the outstanding issues.
The country of South Sudan separated from Sudan in 2011, but it plunged into civil war two years after President Salva Kiir dismissed his deputy, Riek Machar, who turned into a rebel faction leadership.
The conflict between the two parties claimed the lives of about 400,000 people, led to starvation and caused the largest refugee crisis in Africa since the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.
The date set for the formation of a unity government in South Sudan on November 12 has been delayed due to the failure to meet key parameters of the peace agreement.
Many criteria, especially with regard to the merger of forces, remained outstanding, but international donors wanted to form a unity government, though.
Number of states
Last Saturday, the President of South Sudan issued a decision to reduce the number of states in the country from 32 states to ten states, in response to one of the main demands of the opposition.
In a related context, Sudanese Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdouk, along with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, is expected to arrive in the capital of South Sudan on Saturday to hold a summit on the latest peace process arrangements in South Sudan.
A UN report today warned that the current peace in South Sudan is very fragile, and the Southern Sudan Human Rights Commission said in its report that corruption is widespread and that militias are armed, and that civilians are being deliberately starved, noting that more than half of the 12 million people face a shortage Nutritionally.