CEPO Executive Director Edmund Yakani. (Photo: Awan Moses/Eye Radio).

The Executive Director of Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO) alleges that some political actors have secretly obstructed a presidency meeting expected to discuss the transitional process and redraw focus on the Kenya-led peace negotiations.

Edmund Yakani said President Kiir and his five deputies were scheduled to meet on Friday, 18th October 2024, to deliberate on the country’s political future, only for the meeting to be pushed to an unknown date.

“This culture of postponing meeting of the presidency is becoming common and act of delaying deliverance of the political transitional pending tasks for secure peace and stability for the country,” he said in a press statement.

According to him, some actors in the political establishment engaged in creating conditions for the postponement of the presidency meeting because they see it as “a threat to their political personal interest.”

While it remains unclear why the high-level meeting was called off, the activist did not provide evidence in his statement to substantiate the allegations.

“They intended to keep the presidency away from holding regular meetings that actually help in secure decision for timely and genuine implementation of the tasks for transitioning the country to comprehensive political stability.”

Yakani attacked the unnamed individuals who he terms “spoilers of genuine political transitional process” for having allegedly hijacked the peace deal by determining the level of political will and commitment of the peace parties.

He said the Presidency, as the top leadership platform making critical decision on the peace implementation, has a big responsibility on transitioning the country to peace and stability.

Mr. Yakani further urges the leadership to avail time for its performance in relation to deliver the political transitional process in the country through genuine implementation of the pending tasks and secure Tumiani peace talks.

“Any reluctances from the presidency on holding regular meetings is a public disturbance and demonstration of low will and commitment for transitioning the country to comprehensive political stability.”

In his assessment, the performance of the presidency has been below expectation for the last six years, resulting in slow implementation of the political transitional tasks enshrined in the R-ARCSS.

On 21st September 2024, President Kiir signed Amendment Number 12 to the Transitional Constitution of 2011, signaling the official postponement of South Sudan’s first-ever elections, after the decision was endorsed in parliament, cabinet, and R-JMEC.

The extension was agreed because most of the critical peace provisions, including security arrangements, permanent constitution-making, electoral preparations, and other issues that could enable credible elections, remain pending.

A civil society group has called on the transitional government to unveil a concrete plan outlining how it will implement pending critical provisions after the transitional government extension.

Center for Peace and Advocacy (CPA), a Juba-based civil society organization, now calls on the government of peace parties to release a detailed roadmap outlining how it will implement the R-ARCSS over the extended timeframe.

CPA said such plan is important for South Sudanese to understand the government’s commitment to avoid any future extensions of the R-ARCSS.