A senior official has urged key principals to the Revitalised Peace Agreement to expedite the reconstitution of the Transitional National Legislative Assembly to ease the ratification of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).

Director General of External Trade at the Ministry of Trade Stephen Doctor told The City Review that South Sudan has signed the agreement, which ratification should be done by the Members of Parliament.   

“South Sudan signed the agreement to establish the continental free trade area. Now, there was a condition. If you sign, you have to submit to your constitutional assembly or institutions and it has to be ratified. Now our case is different. We signed and we have not ratified,” Doctor said.

Doctor said the agreement handed to the Council of Ministers could be withdrawn and resubmitted due to the absence of a functional parliament and other challenges he did not specify.

“We submitted the Continental Free Trade Area Agreement to the Council of Ministers, and you know, we had some challenges which have not yet been settled due to some reasons I don’t know,” he said.

“And now, we are trying to withdraw it and resubmit it. If the assembly sits and it is ratified, we shall be absolute member of the Continental Free Trade Area and then we will start trading,” Doctor added.

In March 21, 2018, African countries agreed and signed the ACFTA document, which aims at, among other things, liberalize trade and bring about even development on the continent.

The Director General said the trade initiative presents an opportunity for South Sudan to come out of the seven-year long financial crisis, creating jobs and balance its one-sided trade by exporting locally-made products.

All the 55 African countries, except Eritrea, signed the ACFTA in March 21, 2018 and were expected to table the agreement before their respective parliaments for ratification so as to allow uninterrupted free trading among member states.

However, lack of implementation of critical provisions of the September 2018 Revitalized Peace Agreement, among them the reconstitution of parliament which has brought critical national affairs, including passing bills and budget presentation to a standstill.

On January 1, 2021, all member countries who have ratified the agreement began operationalisation of the agreement but South Sudan remained a persistent laggard.

South Sudan has been without a reconstituted parliament since the ushering in of the coalition government in February last year and the impact has been detrimental, economically.

On the New Year’s eve, Chairperson of the National Transitional Committee, Tut Gatluak said the government was set to finalize outstanding provisions of Chapter One of the Revitalized Peace Agreement in the second week of January, including the dissolution and reconstitution of parliament.

“All the lists are ready for reconstitution of National Parliament and Council of States, which will take place after the first week of the new year,” Gatluak said at the time. No progress has been made to that effect as the month enters its third week.

WTO membership

Meanwhile, South Sudan, a member of the East African Community, is also seeking membership with the World Trade Organization.

According to Doctor, the country has been placed on observer status since 2012 by World Trade Organization till it meets all the requirements.

South Sudan which has been facing economic crisis since the onset of the conflict in 2013 exacerbated by COVID-19 pandemic, and senseless inter-communal violence has struggled to meet its regional and continental financial obligations.

In September, the African Union briefly expelled South Sudan for failing to pay $9million to safeguard its membership status.