President Salva Kiir says there is a constitutional vacuum over the term of the state governors.

He says the amendment of the constitution to extend his term in office and the mandate of the national legislature until 2018, does not include the state governors.

The National Legislature amended the transitional constitution in March, saying it would give more time for the government to negotiate a peace agreement with the SPLM in Opposition.

The amendment also extended the mandate of the state assemblies for three years, but it did not say anything about the state governors.

Salva Kiir has now urged the National Legislature to urgently discuss the term of office for the governors.

“The latest amendment in our constitution which has extended the tenure of the presidency together with the national and the state Assemblies, has failed to address the issue of the State Governors,” said President Kiir

“I call upon this August House to look into this constitutional vacuum.”

NGO Bill

The President has directed the legislature to ‘urgently discuss’ the term of the state governors along with the NGO bill.

“This NGO’S bill shall organize and regulate the work and activities of these various organizations which are operated without government supervision.”

The latest draft version of the NGO Bill, which was released in August 2014, included a number of ‘restrictive provisions’ but was withdrawn in October 2014 after NGOs and international organizations voiced concerns with the Bill.

It includes registration and re-registration requirements and criminal penalties for non-compliance with the proposed law.

The NGO Bill also subjects civil society organizations to a regulatory body mainly composed of Government representatives and members appointed by the Government.

This body has broad authority ‘to facilitate and coordinate the work of all national and foreign’ NGOs and ‘to provide policy guidelines for harmonizing their activities with the National Development Plan for South Sudan,’ and the power ‘to receive and consider application for work permits in respect of prospective employees of a registered NGO.

There are more than 900 NGOs in South Sudan. About 300 are foreign.