The SPLM/A-IO led by the First Vice President Dr Riek Machar Teny said the appointment of a deputy was a “stone throw away” and promised to announce the deputy chair soon.
It said other vacant positions in the party will also be filled following the formation of the National Liberation Council last week.
In an interview with The City Review, the SPLM/A-IO Director for Information and Public Relations Pouk Both Baluang said the appointing of the deputy chair and other vacant positions within the party was a “stone-throw away.”
Pouk said the formation of the National Liberation Council was already a step towards the appointment new deputy chairperson of the party.
“The first step is that we should complete our National Liberation Council which was conducted on the second of December. Now we have formed the NLC and according to our constitution, the appointee and the vacant positions from the SPLM-IO should come from the National Liberation Council which is the NLC,” he said.
“Now this process is done, we will (then) announce not only the deputy chair but other vacancies within the structure of the SPLM/A-IO, to have the deputy chairperson and (other positions left vacant) due to defections and other (factors) during the struggle.”
Appointing fails
Last week, the National Liberation Council meeting failed to appoint the deputy chairperson.
The new deputy chair yet to be appointed would fill the position of Henry Odwar who shifted allegiance to the Kit-Gwang Declaration led by Simon Gatwech Dual.
The Information Director earlier disclosed that the party had filled vacant positions within the National Liberation Council and the position of the deputy chair and other notable positions had to wait.
“We are listening to the reports from the states and administrative areas, and we are still here, but the appointments of the deputy chairperson are still pending, although it is one of the agenda remaining,” Pouk said.
He added that it would no longer drag as the NLC was already at hand.
Series of defections
Odwar resigned from positions he led in August this year showing no more interest in serving under the Revitalised Transitional Government of National Unity (R-TGoNU) without a valid reason for his decision.
“With effect from today at 24.00hrs, Wednesday, August 11, 2021, 1, Henry Dilah Odwar resigns from being the Minister of Mining,” read the letter.
But media reports show that he had health concerns and had gone for medication abroad. He had been serving as the Minister of Minister since he was nominated in March by SPLM/A-IO.
Other defected SPLM/A-IO members last week fired back at Machar’s party citing bigotry in their meeting with President Salva Kiir Mayardit. They included Maj. Gen. Khor Chuol Giet, Maj. Gen. Kang Riek Diew, Maj. Gen Lol Nguoth Chom and the commissioner of Longechuk County had concerns about devastations caused by floods.
They pledged their allegiance to Kiir’s government assuring him that the citizens of their county and soldiers believed in them.
They said that SPLM/A-IO had no trace in the county.
“The head of the delegation, Khor Chuol Giet, told H.E. the President that they left SPLM/A-IO under Dr Riek Machar because they wanted to set their people free from tribal hatred and sectional conflicts projected on them by SPLM/A-IO under the leadership of Dr Riek Machar,” the statement read in part.
They said that they were seeking peace, stability, and development to end the suffering of their people in Longechuk County. President Kiir directed them to embrace peace and avoid conflict.
Other defections had been witnessed in Northern Bahr el Ghazal where 310 members of SPLM/A-IO pledged allegiance to SPLM.
Machar responds
Dr Riek Machar, the First Vice President of the R-TGoNU who is the chairperson of SPLM-IO said at the meeting of the National Liberation council that defections from his party were due to love of money, cars and positions.
He called the defected members those who did not have strong political will within his party and were “swept away by events.”
“A person who does not have a strong political feeling towards his party, he will be swept by events, so, this is important…I saw it brought in the agenda part of it, how to resource the party is important,” he said.
He advised his party members to endeavour through cooperation to strengthen the party first and then possessions as money and cars will later follow.