VP Wani Igga, Vice President for Economic Cluster -credit | Eye Radio | Emmanuel Akile | | Sept. 8, 2021

Vice President Dr. James Wani Igga is encouraging the 2018 peace parties to relinquish some major ministerial positions in their dockets to accommodate opposition groups negotiating the Tumaini Initiative with the government.

Addressing an occasion in Juba on Friday, Dr. Igga emphasized the importance of reaching an agreement to end all forms of conflict in the country.

He claimed that some political leaders in the unity government are against the peace process mediated by the Kenyan government due to fear of losing power.

“There are those among us who rejected the Tumaini Initiative taking place in Nairobi and do not want it to succeed,” he said, during the final prayers for the late father of Minister of Labour and Public Service, James Hoth Mai.

“If you delve into the depths of this dialogue, you will discover that everyone fears for their position in the government because they believe that the signatories to the Tumaini Initiative will compete with them for power and even take their positions.”

The vice president contends that durable peace cannot be achieved through exclusion or isolation of holdout groups.

Instead, he encourages the peace parties to find ways to accommodate members of the South Sudan Opposition Movement Alliance.

According to Igga, this will open a space for meaningful dialogue and reconciliation, allowing the country to move beyond war and toward collective healing.

“All those who rebel against the government aim for power. Since this is the case, let us contain them divide the major ministries and include them in them. If this is the reason for not accepting the agreement, most of the disagreement is based on power.”

“We need to reconcile with others and welcome those who were fighting us so that we can stop the war and open a space for dialogue and reconciliation among ourselves in the end.”

The Tumaini Initiative, which started on May 9th, 2024, in Nairobi, is a South Sudan peace talks between the government and the opposition parties who did not sign the 2018 peace deal facilitated by the Kenyan government on the request of President Salva Kiir.

The Tumaini Initiative stalled since mid-June after the SPLM-IO withdrew from the talks, citing the recently signed protocols and proposed institutions that are allegedly parallel or replacing some of those under the R-ARCSS.

The opposition also said the peace process undermined the sovereignty of South Sudan by establishing five institutions with the head and deputies to be appointed by the regional body, IGAD.