The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Opposition (SPLM-IO) has agreed to the formation of state and local governments except in Upper Nile State.
“The leadership resolved that all the nine states where governors have been appointed must form their government and local governments,” Puot Kang Chol, a member of the SPLM-IO political bureau said on Saturday.
The decision was announced after a meeting of the top leadership of the main opposition party — the SPLM-IO in Juba.
The party resolved that nine state governments should be formed, including county administrations across the country.
“Our list as SPLM/SPLA -IO is ready. We will submit it to the governors for the appointment of ministers, state advisors and commissioners so that they move ahead with exception of Upper Nile State pending the appointment of the governor because it is the governor who will form the state and local government in that particular state,” Puot explained.
The SPLM-IO led by the country’s First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar had declined to submit its nominees for state and local government positions, demanding the governor for Upper Nile be first appointed.
Its nominee for the position, General Johnson Olony is being rejected by Kiir’s office, describing him as an “active soldier who has not fully subjected himself to the political development in Juba.”
But Puot Kang explains that the SPLM leadership has now reviewed its earlier decisions to withhold nominees pending the appointment of the Upper Nile governor.
“This is to say we have reviewed our previous decision where we said without the appointment of the upper Nile governor, no state government shall be formed. We have reviewed that as leaders of the SPLM-IO. We have resolved that we allow those governments to be formed.”
The main opposition party also agreed that the national legislature should be reconstituted.
“The national legislature must be formed and we are ready with our lists for the national legislature that is to say national assembly and the council of states so that we move forward,” Puot added.
However, another critical task impeding the full formation of the unity government is the training and unification of the necessary forces to safeguard the 2018 revitalized peace agreement.
The forces cantoned in different training sites across the country are awaiting graduation and deployment.
But the Joint Defense Board — the body tasked with implementing security arrangements in the peace deal said it is constrained by a lack of funds.