The acting spokesperson in the Office of the First Vice President, Puok Both Baluang told Eye Radio there are serious violations in the command structures of SSPDF, National Police and the National Security Service.

Both who are also the acting spokesperson of the SPLM-IO says the three areas of violation are the appointments of the directors for procurement, production, and the appointment of the commander for sector two in Malakal, contrary to the agreed-upon structure.

He added that the rest of the directorates in all organized forces were agreed upon according to article 9 of the matrix signed on April 3 2022.

Both says in the National Police Service structure, President Salva Kiir had omitted three directorates namely; auxiliary forces, custom, and public relations.

Therefore, President Kiir created five new directorates contrary to the agreed-upon structures, namely; Assistant IGP for Investment, Assistant IGP and Police Commissioner for Central Equatoria, Assistant IGP for Human Resource Development, Assistant IGP for Oil Field, and Assistant IGP for Inspectorate.

Both pointed out that the president created new positions of deputy director-general for administration and finance in the internal and external security bureau which was not agreed upon by the parties and appointed his allies to these positions.

The acting spokesperson of the SPLM-IO told Eye Radio these newly created positions will cripple the work of these deputy director generals and the directorates allocated to the SPLM/A – IO.

He urges President Salva Kiir to conform to the agreed structure of the SSPDF, National Police and the National Security Service.

“In the republican order, we have noticed some breach in what we have agreed in the structure, in the three structures of the SSPDF and also the police and national security,” the SPLM-IO acting spokesperson told Eye Radio on Monday.

“In the SSPDF, there are three areas of violation in the appointment of the director of the procurement and director of production, and also the appointment of the commander of sector two in Malakal, this is contrary to what was agreed upon, also these deputies were not among the structures that agreed upon by the parties.

“He [President Kiir] re-appointed his ally to these positions as deputy director-general for admin and finance for internal security bureau and as the deputy director-general for admin and finance in external security bureau, this is the violation.”

For his part, the government Spokesperson, Michael Makuei Lueth refutes the claims and says the President unified the Command and not the other departments as stated by the SPLM/A-IO.

“Unless there are other agreements which are not included in that agreement. If they are saying that the reorganization should go downwards up to the lowest then that is not in the agreement. ,” Michael Makuei told Eye Radio on Monday.

“What is in the agreement is the command structure. It doesn’t go down to other things. I really doubt if they are saying that we are in violation, it is what I don’t know because we are very clear.

“What is the command structure after all, it depends on how you define the command structure because the command structure is the command and the deputy not the directors.”

According to the revitalized peace agreement, the SPLM-IG has 60 per cent of the command structure while the remaining 40 per cent was allocated to the SPLM/A-IO and the South Sudan Opposition Alliance SSOA.

Below is the Unified Command Structure Agreement.