The parties to the agreement have been directed to negotiate and reach consensus on the creation of more states, an official has said.

The President split the ten states into 28 in October and named their governors last month.

But the SPLM in Opposition says border issues should have been discussed before the creation and considers the move to be against the peace agreement.

Last week, JMEC chairman Festus Mogae, told Eye Radio that creating more states was against the deal.

But today, Mr Makuei said JMEC considers the issue as a political but not a legal matter.

He spoke today after a meeting of the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission in Juba.

“We have [also] agreed that the issue of the 28 state is not actually a legal issue but it is a political issue; so the parties have been directed to sit and negotiate outside the box so that the issue… is resolved,” Mr Mogae stated.

Mr. Makuei said the meeting also discussed the establishment of security institutions in South Sudan.

He said the next meeting of the JMEC will be held on the 2ND of February to follow up on the implementation of the agreement.