IGAD Council of Ministers meeting with President Salva Kiir in Juba in April. PHOTO// Presidential Press Unit

The IGAD Council of Ministers say the parties have ‘somehow’ narrowed their positions on the issues of security sector reforms and the power-sharing ratio.

Over the weekend, the regional Council of Ministers met with the Transitional Government of National Unity to discuss two main issues of contention in the revitalization process.

Last week, IGAD postponed the third-phase of the High-level revitalization forum saying that there still exists wide gap between the different groups that need to be narrowed.

The talks were supposed to start on the 2nd, after they were first postponed from the 26th of April.

IGAD said it needed more time to conduct more shuttle diplomacy with the various parties.

A delegation of Foreign Affairs Ministers arrived in Juba over the weekend as part of the region’s effort to soften the position of the parties.

“We have had a very fruitful discussion on the way forward on the next high level revitalization forum. We have also briefed President Salva Kiir on the outcome that has been reached,” said Hirut Zemen, IGAD Council of Ministers’ team leader.

The second phase of the revitalization forum, held in February, was riddled with disagreements over a number of issues in chapter I and II of the 2015 peace agreement.

These include the formation of the Transitional Government and permanent ceasefire and transitional security arrangement.

There have been several calls on parties to exercise political will and compromise in order for the peace process to be successful.

IGAD hopes this prolong shuttle diplomacy will help in narrowing the differences among the parties “to ensure the talks do no stall again”.

Earlier, IGAD Special Envoy Ismael Wais called on the region to intensify its engagement with the parties and key regional interlocutors to better understand the parties’ position and to unlock the outstanding issues.

Hirut Zemene, the Ethiopian Foreign Affairs Minister, told reporters in Juba on Monday that they discussed “how to go about with the responsibility sharing of parties of South Sudan” with the Transitional Government of National Unity.

“The second one is how to go about with the security sector reforms. We have seen a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel,” she added.

IGAD Special Envoy, Wais had earlier stressed that this engagement should pay particular attention to the leadership of TGoNU and SPLM/A-IO.

He said the Council of Ministers should consider taking decisive measures on violation of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement that has been verified and reported by CTSAMM, and recommend practical measures to the AU Peace and Security Council and UN Security Council for their immediate action as appropriate.

speaking on behalf of the TGoNU, the Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr Martin Elia Lomoro said the consultation with the Council of Ministers was the “first time the government has interacted practically with IGAD to discuss its position and options available.”

He said the delegation presented the TGoNU with a possible way out from the current contention.

“Those are just proposals, they have not been properly critiqued, and I wouldn’t indulge into them for the time being. But there are proposals; some of them make sense, they provide a room for a concessions to be made, but I think it’s good to continue discussing them.”

Dr Lomoro said there is need for more consultations to be done to ensure the next round of talks bears ‘fruit’.

Among other issues, the opposition groups have demanded that President Kiir be excluded from the next transitional government, a demand Kiir describes as “unreasonable”.

“They want me to sign the agreement and then step down immediately…what is my incentive in bringing peace” said Kiir.

According to Dr Martin Elia, more consultations are needed to soften the stand of the parties.

“They have heard from the opposition groups; the IO and the South Sudan Opposition Alliance, and we have encouraged them to continue narrowing the gap and to continue to do shuttle diplomacy to the point that when we return back to the table to discuss the final parts of it, we can come back with peace to our people.”

The next round of talks in Addis Ababa between the Transitional Government of National Unity, the Opposition Alliance and the SPLM-IO under Dr. Riek Machar will resume from the 17^th to 21^st of this month.