IGAD urged to pressure Kiir’s SPLM faction to expedite peace implementation

JUBA – A senior opposition official allied to First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar Teny has called on the regional bloc, Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), to put more pressure on the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) under President Salva Kiir to expedite the implementation of critical tasks in the 2018 peace deal.

Speaking to Sudans Post this morning, Dut Majokdit, a member of the SPLM-IO National Liberation Council attributed the slow pace in the implementation of the peace agreement to lack of political will from the SPLM.

“We want the IGAD to pressure those that lack political will like the SPLM in government to demonstrate the political will so that this peace agreement is implemented in spirit and letter,” Majokdit told Sudans Post in an interview on Tuesday.

Majokdit said it is the right time for the IGAD to put pressure on political parties to speed up the implementation of security arrangements and other critical tasks to move the country out of transition.

“We need this peace agreement to be implemented so that we can have a democratic elected government at the end of the transitional period because the most provisions in the peace agreement have not been implemented,” he said.

He said the IGAD should send a strong message to political leaders to accelerate efforts to graduate unified forces to prepare the country for elections at the end of transitional period.

“We urged the IGAD to put more pressure on the peace partners and resolve these issues to do with security arrangement so that we can graduate and redeploy the forces so that we can repatriate our refugees to the country,” he said.

“The IGAD has been silent over the matter and as SPLM-IO, we have been implementing our part but there is a lack of political will from the other side of the key partner to the peace agreement,” he added.

He said the slow pace in the implementation of 2018 in the young nation should require urgent attention.

“South Sudan can’t be in transition after transitions over the years. The people of South Sudan are tired of this suffering. They want peace and stability to enjoy fruits of independence,” he said.