The process of demarcating the border between South Sudan and Kenya has been slowed down due to the forthcoming elections in that country, an official has said.

Kenyans will go to the polls to elect their representatives including the president on August 8, 2017, according to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission.

Through its border program, which began in 2007, the African Union encourages all African states with outstanding border disputes to define and demarcate their boundaries by the end of 2010.

But the program failed to meet the deadline, mainly due to lack of technical support, funding and failed arbitration attempts to settle running border disputes between many African countries.

The AU then directed all the African countries to finish the demarcation of their borders by this year.

Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson Amb Mawien Makol says South Sudan is making efforts to demarcate its borders to meet the African Union deadline.

“They [AU] have agreed that they will now go down to the hotspots where they can lay down the exact boundary lines,” Amb Mawien.

Two weeks ago, the government approved a sum of 100,000 dollars and 19.5 million South Sudanese Pounds for the Joint Border Commission with the Sudan.

The Information Minister, Micheal Makuei, who is also the Co-chair of the Commission, said the money is to facility the work of the commission and also to train the staffs’ Technical team with skills in border demarcation.