By Puok Both Baluang,
Juba, South Sudan
August 29, 2021—The Office of the First Vice President of the Republic of South Sudan H.E. Dr. Riek Machar Teny-Dhurgon learned with great surprise and concern about the statement of Hon. Dr. Martin Elia Lomuro, Minister of Cabinet Affairs yesterday August 28, 2021 in Juba, citing that the parties to the Revitalized Peace Agreement had reached an agreement on the ratios of sharing the Command of the Unified Forces by 60:40 for ITGONU and the Opposition respectively.
In this context, we strongly refute this false information and also underscore that the issue remain unresolved.
It is important to recall that the parties has agreed as contained in the Summary Report of the IGAD/RJMEC Joint Security Mechanism Workshop held on 10th – 11th May 2019 at Palm Africa Hotel, Juba, South Sudan that the determined ratios for establishment of the National Unified Forces – 50% from the ITGONU and 50% from the opposition. (Resolution 14 -15).
This agreement was signed off on September 9, 2019 by Gen. Gabriel Jok Riak Makol, the former Chief of Defence of SSPDF and Lt. Gen. James Koang Chol, former Deputy Chief of General Staff for Administration and Finance of SPLA – IO in a report, signed by both, on the status of implementation of Transitional Security Arrangement (TSA) of the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan.
Thereafter Gen. Johnson Juma Okot, the former Chief of Defence of SSPDF and Gen. Gabriel Duop Lam, the Deputy Chief of General Staff for Operations as JDB Co-Chairs on August 11, 2020 confirmed that agreement in a Special Report on the Structure and Positions in the Higher and Lower Echelons of the Security Forces of the Republic of South Sudan. This was also echoed by the Implementation Plan for Unification of the National Security Service which was signed on 8th June 2019.
Despite the aforementioned documents, President Salva Kiir has refused to accept them and this is what prompted the IGAD through its Chairperson, Sudan’s Prime Minister H.E. Dr. Abdalla Hamdok visit Juba on 19 August 2021 to mediate between the parties on the matter.
Finally, we would like to inform the public that the last sharing ratios on the establishment of the Unified Command proposed by IGAD is 55:45 which the parties has not yet discussed.
Signed
Puok Both Baluang
Acting Press Secretary, Office of the First Vice President.Â
