Juba, South Sudan,
November 22, 2021 — The Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO), civil society organization, calls on the state governors and chief administrators, who are attending the ongoing forum in the capital, Juba, to prioritize security and speedy implementation of the September 2018 Revitalized Peace Agreement.
South Sudan governors of the country’s 10 states and the three administrative areas are in the capital, Juba to attend the first annual governors’ forum from November 22-26.
The five-day event, organized by the office of the president with support from United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) is expected to deliberate on the national budget allocation for social services delivery and strengthening of local government.
Speaking to media on Monday, CEPO’s Executive Director, Edmund Yakani said the state and administrative areas leaders have major roles to play in order to transition the country from war to peace
“States and local government institutions have effective roles to play for transitioning society from violence to peace. The current factors affecting effective functioning of state and local government institutions is the fashion of governance where it is viewed as decentralized, but without centralized revenue system and political power” said CEPO’s Executive Director, Edmund Yakani.
The forum is essential for designing national strategy for state governments, allowing effective engagement in transitioning society from violence to peace.
During the forum, governors and the heads of the administrative areas are expected to present various development projects in their areas in the past years.
CEPO urged leaders of the Transitional Government of National Unity (TGoNU) to effectively participate in the forum and allow unrestricted civic space for states.
“It is time for the state governors and heads of political administrative areas to take practical and action-oriented decisions that contribute to empowering them on matters of revenue collection and management, national budget allocation, mitigation of inter-communal and intra-communal violence, human rights violations, rule of law and the implementation,” stressed Yakani.
The theme of the Governors’ forum is “Role of the States in the Implementation of the Revitalized Peace Agreement, towards Peace, Stability and Prosperity”.
