May 5, 2020 (Nyamilepedia) – South Sudan’s ruling SPLM faction under President Salva Kiir Mayardit is reiterating demand for the establishment of provisional state governments as latest attempt to form state governments hit another deadlock, a senior opposition official said this morning.
The new development comes after talks over responsibility sharing at the state and local governments ended in stalemate in April despite attempts by the body monitoring the peace agreement to mediate.
Based on the revitalized peace agreement signed by President Salva Kiir and First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar in September 2018, responsibility sharing at state and county levels shall be 55% for Kiir’s side, Machar’s SPLM-IO 27%, SSOA 10% and OPP 8%.
Kiir’s SPLM faction demanded in April, because the parties couldn’t reach a deal, that there was need for establishment of provisional state governments to fill the power vacuum which has been created by lack of governments in the states.
Speaking to Nyamilepedia this morning, a senior SPLM-IO official said from Juba that the parties have yet again reached a deadlock after President Salva Kiir’s side demanded for the second time the establishment of provisional governments in the states.
“The latest attempt has failed because the government is demanding that because we cannot reach a deal because of their making we should instead form provisional state governments,” the senior opposition official said on condition of anonymity.
The official who declined to be named blamed the Kiir’s SPLM faction saying the revitalized peace agreement negotiated in Khartoum and signed in Addis Ababa provides for the basis on which the state governments are formed.
“To us, there is no justification for the delay and formation of state governments. The peace agreement clearly states that there the government takes 55% which is five state governors, the SPLM-IO 27% which is three, the SSOA 10% which is one and the OPP 0.8% which is one,” he said.
“So, the government is just buying time while the transitional period is going,” he added.
