Parliament to be reconstituted in weeks – Kiir

JUBA – South Sudan’s reconstituted parliament will be formed in a few weeks, according to president Salva Kiir Mayardit.

Kiir made the revelation during a speech at Dr. John Garang De’Mabior Mausoleum where the ceremony for the signing of a landmark Sudanese peace agreement took place on Saturday.

Kiir said the peace agreement was on track, saying legislative structures both at the national and state levels have been agreed upon by the parties and say that his country will witness the formation of the reconstituted national parliament in weeks.

“The structure and composition of the legislature at state level have already been agreed, and the coming few weeks will witness the formation of the National Legislative Branch of Government through the setting up of our bicameral legislature consisting of Reconstituted Transitional National Legislative Assembly (R-TNLA)and the Council of States,” Kiir said.

The South Sudanese leader also revealed that the parties will soon graduate the first batch of the joint VIP protection unit, which he said would be the nucleus for the country’s would-be professional unified army.

“We are also on the verge of passing out the first batch of our Joint Unified (VIP) Protection Unit that will be the nucleus of our future integrated South Sudan People’s Defense Force (SSPDF),” he said.

Kiir however said consensus has not yet been reached by the parties on some local units, but expressed optimism that the parties would soon reach an agreement and sub-national governments would be formed soon.

“What remains is the agreement among the different stakeholders on the allocation of leadership positions in a handful of counties,” he said.

“Once that is done, we will have completed the executive structure from national down to the local government level,” he added.