South Sudan president says peace deal ‘cannot be implemented overnight’

JUBA – President Salva Kiir Mayardit on Monday afternoon reiterated his commitment to the implementation of the revitalized peace agreement, but then accused unnamed signatories of seeking for the implementation of the peace agreement overnight.

Kiir signed a revitalized version of a 2018 peace agreement with his first deputy and SPLM-IO leader Dr. Riek Machar Teny in September 2018 in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa, but the deal has been stalling with SPLM-IO accusing Kiir of intentionally paralyzing the implementation process of the agreement.

Addressing reporters during a press conference conducted at the premise of the ministry cabinet affairs Monday, Kiir said the revitalized peace agreement is an “ambitious document” that cannot be implemented overnight and stressed that its full implementation requires a genuine and sustained discussion among the parties.

“The Revitalized Peace Agreement we are implementing is an ambitious document. This fact is often discounted by those who think it should be implemented overnight. The full implementation of this agreement cannot be done without having a sustained dialogue among the parties,” Kiir said.

“In the process of dialogue, we as parties to the agreement at times hit minor bumps on the road,” he added.

‘Conflicting positions’

President Kiir went on to describe recent SPLM-IO statements regarding the implementation process of the agreement as contradictory, but said that it was part of the sustained dialogue that he thinks is need in the full implementation process of the revitalized peace agreement.

“I would like our people to consider the recent SPLM-IO Political Bureau Resolution that came out from its meeting held on 11-14 of March 2022, and other communications they have shared with the public as part of sustained dialogue I just mentioned,” Kiir said.

“These kinds of conflicting positions are expected in the implementation of a complex Agreement like ours,” he added.

The South Sudanese president further assured the public that the implementation of the 2018 peace agreement is ongoing as expected and said he considers the agreement as the path towards peace in the country.

“To ensure that no one panics from these, I am assuring you that the implementation of the Revitalized Peace Agreement is on track. We all consider this Agreement as the path to our stability and I am committed to working with our partners to implement it,” he added.