By Yang Ater
The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army in Opposition (SPLM/A-IO) has vividly marked their presence in Lakes State, Rumbek as they launched their party secretariat in Rumbek on Friday.
The launch was officiated by the SPLM/A-IO party interim Secretary General, Regina Joseph Kapa along with other senior party members from Juba as delegated by the party chairman Dr. Riek Machar Teny.
The delegation was hosted in Rumbek by the deputy governor of Lakes State who is also the interim chairman of the SPLM/A-IO party in Lakes State. Other IO senior party members in Lakes State executive, lawmakers, Ministers, independence commissions, county commissioner and among party members in the State welcomed the delegation from Juba led by Secretary General Cde Regina Joseph Kapa.
Other accompanying senior members in National secretariat included Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning Agok Makur, Joseph Maluaal Dong, Jackson Wani and National MPs.
Speaking during the launch of the new secretariat, the Secretary General madam Regina Joseph delegated by Chairman of SPLM/A-IO and First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar Teny urged the SPLM/A-IO party leadership in Lakes State to also establish the party structures in all counties of Lakes State, to ensure SPLM-IO leadership structures from the States, counties, payams and Boma levels.
She assured the IO party members and supporters in Lakes State that their chairman Dr. Riek Machar will pay them a visit in Rumbek as soon as possible.
The SPLM/A-IO S.G. appealed to the people of South Sudan to acquaint themselves with information that the agreement has been extended by all the parties to the Revitalized Peace Agreement to have enough time to implement the deal.
The Deputy Governor of Lakes State who is the interim chairman of SPLM/A-IO in the State Mr. Poth Madit Dut gave awareness to the public on the need to have political space and freedom of expression and assembly for every citizen in the country as mandated by the law.
Madit underlined that some of the powers sharing deals to all parties to the agreement are not being implemented in Lakes State citing that the Mayor and two Deputies’ positions are occupied by the SPLM party but according to the agreement one deputy should have been given to the SPLM/A-IO and the other to the Other Political Parties (OPP).
Dut condemned the random harassment of SPLM/A-IO members by security forces which happened during the reception of the SPLM/A-IO delegation from Juba who went for the launch of the SPLM-IO party secretariat in Lakes State’s capital, Rumbek.
The deputy governor urged “the right to peaceful assembly is recognized and guaranteed; every person shall have the right to freedom of association with others, right to form or join a political party of his or her choice according to law”.
He welcomes those people who defected from SPLM and joined the SPLM/A-IO in Lakes State and urged them to feel free.
Philip Taban Cher, the Minister of cooperative and rural development in Lakes State assured the delegation that they who are in the State government’s executive are cooperating with Other Political Parties in the State.
He said their mandate as SPLM/A-IO is to make reforms in the government through justice, transparency and accountability.
Meanwhile the Commissioner of Cuebet County, Dr. Isaiah Akhol Mathiang said the SPLM/A-IO is not a party for Nuer tribe only, but it’s a party for all citizens of South Sudan. He urged the citizens to keenly select the party that’s working hard to deliver services to the needy in the upcoming election.