File: South Sudan's President Salva Kiir Credit| John Muchucha/AP

An activist has called on President Salva Kiir to re-claim hopes for his administration by making the next ten years meaningful and fruitful for the citizens.

South Sudan celebrated a decade of independence on July 9. But the past ten years of independence have been marred by violence since 2013.

Kiir’s administration has also failed to contain inter-communal and cattle-related violence in some parts of the country.

According to the UN, this has created insecurity for civilians since political violence subsided following the signing of the revitalized peace agreement in 2018.

In his address to the nation on the 10th Independence anniversary, President Kiir said the past ten years had been lost to the violence.

Now, a civil society activist and a signatory to the revitalized peace agreement has also described the past ten years as a “wasted decade”.

Rajab Mohandis says so many people have died and millions of others have been displaced into refugee camps and internally.

“We have lost a lot, we moved backward very much and we did not make commendable progress as a country and we should use this moment, the 10th anniversary for reflection and actually join hands and work collectively to move forward and make the next 10 years more fruitful and beneficial for the citizens of this nation,” Mr. Mohandis told Eye Radio.

Rajab Mohandis who is the Executive Director of the Organization for Responsive Governance urged the president to turn things around for South Sudanese.

“He (Kiir) is the president and in charge of the process of leading this country to a better future and that responsibility should be taken seriously,” he added.

The civil society activist further called on the parties to the peace agreement to join hands and work cooperatively for peace to prevail.

“All citizens should stand with him in this important noble task of changing the course of history that we have had over the past ten years,” said Mr. Mohandis.