The military command has passed a resolution changing the name of the SPLA to the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces in a bid to transform the army.

A 3 days conference attended by senior military leaders in Bilpam, chaired by President Salva Kiir agreed to reorganize and transform the army into a conventional force.

The conference was held under the theme; “Restructuring for Effective Transformation.”

Among the 70 resolutions passed, SPLA shall be renamed into the SSPDF.

In a statement released to the media, the conference agreed to establish two undersecretaries within the Ministry of Defense, develop proper strategies for logistic and procurement procedures.

It also called for a clear policy for motivating and promoting army officers.

The military leadership agreed to mobilize more funds for the pension scheme that will allow the army to demobilize and reintegrate some soldiers into civilian lives.

Speaking to Eye Radio Thursday afternoon, the SPLA deputy spokesperson says the resolutions will be presented to President Salva Kiir Mayardit in his capacity as the commander in chief of the SPLA before it’s announced at the national level.

“The SPLA has recommended for its name to be changed reading as South Sudan People’s defense forces, this imply the old amendment of the SPLA act 2009, in which there are some other things within the SSPLA act including the deputy chief, which is one of the structures and then the joint defense board; which is we are sharing with Sudan,” Domic said.

“The specialized committee will work on these three recommendations, then it will present the whole thing to the president so that the president write an order and of course give it to the constitutional amendment committee so that it’s done at the national level,” he said.

They further resolved to establish defense institutions for intelligence gathering and training.

In transforming the army, soldiers will also be taken for training in technology and technical fields.

President Salva Kiir called for the speedy implementation of the resolutions of the military command council.

He said the restructuring of the army will make it an effective force that holds the standards of a conventional army.

Another resolution of the conference is that the recruitment of abled individuals into the army will be based on the equal share from each state, and representatives of all tribes.