South Sudan transitional government of unity will be entering the final phase of its existence by the end of 2021. Meaning by December this year, the arrangement will only have six months window period of existence to ensure that all the requirements of the peace agreement signed by President Salva Kiir and First Vice President Dr Riek Machar in 2018 are achieved.

As per the calendar of the agreement, citizens are expected to have their democratic elected leaders in place six months before the end of the transition period in 2022.

With voices of concern becoming deafening, the government jumped with a timely reassurance that the full implementation of the agreement would be realised. On Monday, February 1, the Presidential Security Advisor and chair of the National Transitional Committee (NTC) Tut Gatluak told press that all the outstanding grew areas have been finalised.

“Now the agreement is going on well and I want to assure you once more that we have completed all the political issues. With God’s grace we will now move on with development and provision of good security in the Republic of South Sudan,” Tut said. The man charged with overseeing the implementation of the peace agreement spoke with gusto and confidence.

 But his assurance contradicted the concerns of assessments of Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (RJMEC) which has continuously raided a red flag over slow implantation of issues.

On flipside

Recently, on January 28, RJMEC Interim Chairperson Maj Gen Charles Gituai highlighted a number of issues yet to be ironed out. He spoke during a one-day seminar involving RJMEC, NTC and security organs. The group spoke in details about yet to be implemented chapter two of the peace agreement RJMEC said will give an ‘assurance of a stable nation.’

‘‘We have observed that there has been a significant decline in the pace of implementation of the Permanent Ceasefire and Transitional Security Arrangements (PCTSA) as envisaged in the chapter two of the agreement,’’ Gituai deducted in the statement. The commission then faulted the training of the National Unified Forces which it said had stalled due to administrative gaps.

For example, RJMEC mentioned teamed up with teams from IGAD, AU and other foreign ambassadors to conduct factfinding mission in Maridi and Rajaf training centres on January 23-and the results were shocking. ‘‘…there are reports of morale reaching low levels in poorly supplied cantonment sites and reports of trainees abandoning poorly supplied training centres in search of food,’’ Gituai said.

The graduation of the first batch of the 83,000 Necessary Unified Forces (NUF) which is critical to overall implementation of the agreement remains pending. Majority of 28,000 joint forces have left the training centres due to poor condition beyond, Ceasefire Monitoring, CTSAMVM reported last month.

The commission further faulted the defection of commanders and troops, shifting from one camp to the next as potential baggage for the peace agreement. According to RJMEC, the revitalsed peace agreement has sailed in glory for over two years with myriad achievements which should never be undone by self-seeking individuals shifting camps.

The same commission pointed out in its annual report of 2020 that responsibility sharing as envisaged in chapter 1 including establishment of coalition governments and Chapter two of security arrangement continues to delay.

The RJMEC also noted in the report the lack of implementation of Chapter three and five of the agreement, the humanitarian and reconstruction provisions and constitution making process respectively. In summation of the report, the commission warns that defections and lack of implementation of these chapters abet conflicts and bouts of violence.

The government has spent more than half of the transition period on economic reforms and yet to be established African Union Hybrid Court. Parties are left with less than 18 months to implement the other chapters and take South Sudan to democratically elected leadership with all functional structures. A tumultuous task it seems but Mr Gatluak maintained that everything was on course after completion of Chapter two; remaining other chapters to be completed in time. “Because we have divided all the states’ positions to all the parties as provided in the peace agreement, everything concerning the council of states and members of parliament in the Republic of South Sudan. We have now completed everything. No going back again,” Tut said.

On February 2, the cabinet cleared the First Vice President Dr Riek Machar to tour the country to quell tension simmering in the SPLM-IO strongholds.

 ‘‘This measure is intended among other things, to help address some of the recurrent problems associated with freedom of access to and movement within, areas still under the administrative control of the SPLM-IO by entrenching the reality that the R-TGoNU is a single unified government,” said statement signed by the Minister of Presidential Affairs Nhial Deng Nhial.