Gov’t fails to graduate unified forces over lack of political will from ‘higher level’

JUBA – A member of South Sudan’s Joint Defense Board (JDB) has said the country has failed to graduate the necessary unified forces at the end of May due to  lack of political will from the country’s top leadership.

In April, the country’s defense minister Angelina Teny set May 31^st as a new date for the graduation of the long-awaited unified forces after missing several deadlines due to financial constraints.

Speaking to Sudan Post this afternoon in Juba, Colonel Lam Paul Gabriel, a member of JDB and press secretary for the minister of defense, said the country’s top leadership lack what he described as the political will to graduate the unified forces.

“There is lack of political will currently going on with the leadership at a higher level and if they have the political will and they see this country bigger than their individuals’ interest or tribal interest, I believe we will be able to graduate these forces,” Paul told Sudans Post reporter on a phone interview on Tuesday.

Gabriel said they can’t graduate the forces with directives from the Presidency.

“Why there is silence from the top leadership especially the Presidency because this is where the power is. If the Presidency wants us to graduate these forces even tomorrow, we will graduate as long as there are directives and resources” he said.

“We can graduate the forces if there are resources but if you don’t have the resources, you can make several timetables, you can come up with motions but at the end, this graduation will never happen,” he disclosed.

He urged the top leadership to have the nation at heart and to implement the security sector reforms.

“As long as our own personal interest overshadows the national agenda than these forces will continue to suffer in these training centers regardless of who come up with timetable or plans to graduate make sure they are passed out,” he said.

According to the 2018 peace deal, the unified forces – composed of opposition and government armies – were supposed to be graduated before the end of the pre-transitional period which ended in February last year with Machar’s appointment as First Vice President.

The forces were to take charge of security during the ongoing transitional period in the country.