By William Madouk Garang
President Salva Kiir Mayardit on Wednesday asked the governors and chief administrators to implement resolutions and recommendations of the sixth governors’ forum.
President Kiir during the closing of the sixth governors’ forum said lack of follow up on the resolutions and recommendations of the governors’ forum remains as a challenge.
“Let us address this lack of follow up on the resolutions collectively at all levels of government. Failure to take this public concern seriously will erode public trust in the government’s understanding of the significance of this annual gathering” said Kiir.
In a week-long forum, all governors and chief administrators brought up many defies and worries linking to financial difficulties, security issues and power overlapping among governors.
The sixth governors’ forum concluded with 52 resolutions and 83 recommendations from participants, and it’s divided into three categories: peace and security, governance, and economics.
Resolutions made
Peace and Security
1. Affirm commitment of the States and Administrative Areas to implernentation of the R-ARCSS through the Roadmap 2022;
2. Urge the Government to lobby the UN and global powers, especially the Trioka, to lift the arms embargo imposed on South Sudan so that weapons are secured for the necessary unified forces;
3. Supply training centres for necessary unified forces with adequate food rations, clean drinking water, medicines and other necessities;
4. Pay security forces adequate salaries and incentives to reduce corruption and abuses against civilians as well as environmental degradation through rampant cutting of trees;
5. Implement peaceful comprehensive disarmament across the country, and ensure that civilians have no access to the collected weapon stockpiles; :
6. Organize and deploy the unified forces to the states in order to help in maintaining the security;
7. Monitor and control inflow of small and light weapons across South Sudan’s porous international borders:
8. Conduct trauma healing and psychosocial support training including training of payam, bomas and cattle camps communities;
9. Repatriate and reintegrate refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) into their original home areas or resettle voluntarily in other areas including Ramciel;
10. Empower religious leaders and traditional authorities as agents of change in communities;
11. Continue to hold peace dialogues to end communal violence, including cattle rustling
and conflicts between farmers and cattle keepers;
12. Encourage inter-States/Administrative Areas and inter-communal peace conferences;
13. Work for unity of the South Sudanese people to build social cohesion;
14. All leaders should tolerate constructive criticism, open political space and respect freedom of expression and opinion; and
15. States/Administrative Areas and counties should adhere to agreed power sharing ratios in making appointments or filling positions.
Governance
16. Review laws that impinge on the powers of the States,
17. States’ and Administrative Areas’ governments to collect Personal income tax (PIT) of their employees as stipulated in the Constitution;
18. Resolve and mitigate inter- and intra- States or Administrative Areas conflicis over boundaries or resources;
19. Call upon law makers to exercise their oversight roles:
20. Implement annual audits of accounts of public institutions;
21. Strengthen the justice system through training and empowerment of customary authorities;
22. Consolidate intergovernmental relations through effective coordination and communication:
23. States and Administrative Areas are to form their own Pension Funds and Schemes in accordance constitution (Schedule B 5);
24. Promote sports across the country by opening spaces, establish sport clubs and noic
tournaments in States and Administrative Areas;
25. Enact a Bill to end gender-based violence (GBV); and
26. Direct the states/administrative areas to establish strong governance structures and operation according to norms and standards to be subject to regular governance audit by the national government.
Economics
27.Commit to mobilise more resources or finances through adoption of a realistic tax regime:
28. Stop imposing high taxes on small scale enterprises to boost the economy;
29. Data and records of investors in the country to be channelied to the National Ministry of Investment;
30. All States and Administrative Areas should allocate pieces of land for investments. including for industrial zones or areas, economic zones;
31. Designate a directorate at States and Administrative Areas Ministry of Finance to
coordinate with the State Affairs Directorate in the National Ministry of Investment:
32. Facilitate investment opportunities mapping in States and Administrative Areas,
33. Employ South Sudanese youth in all productive sectors instead of foreigners
34. Educate South Sudanese on business skills and provide seed funds to start businesses
such as agribusiness, food processing and value chain addition,
35. Avail funds for microfinance to entrepreneurs so as to boost businesses, anc
36. Screen out ghost names from payrolls through biometrics system.
Basic Services
37.Urge people to adhere to COVID-19 and Ebola preventive measures and vaccinate against hepatises;
38. Finance programmes of the HIV/AIDS Commission in the country,
39. Adopt and enforce legislations and policies that prevent violence against people living
with HIV and protect their right to access mental health services, education and other basic services;
40.End stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV;
41. Provide veterinary services, including drugs and information, to livestock keepers across the country;
42. Identify and map corridors and livestock movement routes, taking into account the needs and aspirations of both herders and farmers; and domesticate the IGAD Transhumance Protocol;
43. Establish an Anti-Stock Theft Unit within the Police Service;
44. Develop projects towards transformation and commercialization of the livestock sector including the introduction of cross breeding programmes and livestock identification and traceability;
45. Recruit, develop and appraise performance of civil servants based on merit,
46. Pay teachers and health workers adequately to improve service delivery
47. Train teachers and health workers:
48. Improve health service delivery across the country
49. Support National Bureau of Standards to ensure that the quality of food terns and goods
traded and consumed in the country meet the international standar¢
50. Ban early and forced marriages:
51.Control alcohol abuse by children and youth, and the use of harmful drugs. and
52. Promote sustainable management and exploitation of natural resources ard sulle resilience to impact of climate change.
Recommendations made
Peace and Security
1.Strongly urge and call upon the Non-Signatory South Sudan Opposition Group (NSSSOG), previously known as South Sudan Opposition Movement Alliance (SSOMA) to abide by the Agreements signed under the auspices of the Community of Sant’Egidio in Rome. These documents are:
a) Declaration of Principles between the Revitalized Government of Nationa!
Unity (R-TGONU) and South Sudan Opposition Movement Alliance – 42
October 2020:
b) Rome Resolution on Monitoring and Verification of CoHA 2017 – 13 February 2022:
c) Declaration of Recommitment to Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (CoHA) and the Rome Resolution – March 8, 2021 Naivasha, Kenya:
d) Rome Initiative for Political Dialogue in South Sudan: Declaration of Principles – 10 March 2022:
e) Agenda for Rome Initiative Agreed with Pagan and Malong SSOMA in September 2021.
2. NSSSOG must stop ambushes and adhere to the call by African Union to silence the guns and demonstrate full commitment to peaceful settlement of the conflict in our country;
3. Expedite the deployment of graduated unified forces to hotspot across the country; and complete the training, graduation and deployment of remaining unified forces;
4. Deploy the graduated unified forces to the border areas such as Bira, Nadapal, Ngomoromo, Lasu Kajokeji, Akobo, Kolorow, Panakuach, Loelle, Jaw, Raad, Pochalla, Awawa, Nasir, Morobo, Elemi Triangle, and Raga;
5 Expedite the implement of DDR process;
6. Punish those in uniform found particpating in communal violence
7 Call on the UN to upgrade UNISFA to a full UN mission to provide services to the population,
8. Expedite settlement of the final status of the Abyei
9. Resolve the internal border issues between Ngok Dinka and Twic Dnka as well as between Ruweng and Unity State as per 1 January 1956 border;
10. Enhance peaceful settlement of inter and intra states or adminstartive areas boundaries;
11. Resolve the fighting among armed groups and targeted killings in Upper Nile State
12. Implement Presidential Order for cattle to move from Central and Eastern Equatoria back to their area of orgin in Jonglei and elsewhere for peace to prevail and farmers to work their fields in peace
13. Ministry of Peace building to conduct awareness on peace and address inter-communal violence and child abductions;
14. National government to fund peace building activities in order to cement peace in the country;
15.Engage peace partners to continue funding peace activities,
16. Facilitate peace builders to create awarness on R-ARCSS;
17. Empower courts to quickly address the issue of communal violence, and;
18. Protect humantarian actors when performing or executing humanitarian interventions.
Governance
19. Conduct population census and hold elections as scheduled;
20. Call upon MPs and officials to regularly visit their constituencies;
21. National Government to engage neighbouring countries to reduce disputes over borders,
22. Establish Boundary Commission instead of committee;
23. Create jobs for young graduates through industrialistion and boosting private sector activities,
24. amend Emolument Act 2010;
25. Urge ministry of Finance and planning to pay salaries on time
26. Recommit ourselves to the implementation of the remaining resolutions and recommandations of 5th Governors’ Forum;
27. Empower youth and women for self-raliance through activation of youth and women enterprise funds,
28. Registration of all political parties in the country in accordance to Political Parties Act:
29.Restructure and reconstite Ntional Election Commission, Land Commission and Human Rights Commission and others;
30. Address the phenomena of street children “Nigas” and “Tortoros”, and;
31.Encourage the public and private institutions to deliberately embed gender dialogue and empowerment into their various interventions and regularly evaluate their efforts to
eliminate negative gender stereotypes.
Economics
32. Urge Ministry of Finance and Planning and the Bank of South Sudan to expedite Public Financial Management Reforms (PFM);
33.Urge Ministry of Finance and Planning to review budget ceiling in consultation with spending agencies;
34. Urge National Ministry of Finance and Planning to conform with the international best practices in budget execution;
35. Unify basic salary structures for all civil servants in the country,
36, Strengthen public financial management capacity at national and subnational levels to
improve disbursement, utilization, accountability and tracking of resources,
37. Implement single treasury account for the Ministry of Finance and Planning to minimize the misappropriation of public funds;
38. Promote inter-States and Administrative Areas trade;
39. Encourage bottom-up budget process from the States and Administrative Areas;
40. Report regularly to the public on revenues from both oil and non-oil resources;
41. Urge states/Administrative to prepare supplemntary budget so that the national government can put into consideration their budgets deficit;
42. Train finance staff of State and adminstratives areas on effective and efficient resource mobilization and management;
43, National and State govermen to set up public agriclutural farms or schemes and revive Aweil Rice Schemes and other old schemes,
44. improve distribution of seeds, implement and other agricultural inputs to farmers and develop their knowledge and skills;
45, Rehabilitate farmer research centers to enhance agricultural research programmes
46. Transform agriculture through cooperative enterprises,
47.Provide loans to bonafide or verified businesspersons,
48. Halt ongoing deforestation and promote tree planting across the country,
49. Ask Sudan to adhere to the Agreement on Oil and Related Economic Matters (TFA) which ended in February (AOREM), especially the Transitional Financial Arrangements
2022, and to stop inland lifting South Sudan oil without agreement ;
50. Ask the government of Sudan to respect the provision of the CPA on the distribution of oil revenues of Abyei and clear the arrears since 2005;
51. Construct a pipeline to Lamu/ Djibouti to increase oil production;
52. Fast-track the establishment of Ramciel as national capital and invite investors for Tali
international airport as continental hub;
53.Market South Sudan; and
54. Invest oil revenue to diversify the economy of South Sudan.
Basic Services
55. Provide basic services to lessen grievances and conflicts among the population;
56. Mainstream disaster risk reduction in sectorial development plans and programmes;
57.Build dams and dykes to control and mitigate impacts of floods;
58.Clear/ clean rivers and aquatic weeds blocking water ways for transports and to reduce
floods intensity;
59. Establish a fund for emergencies and disasters responses
60. Provide relief to States and Administrative Areas affected by hunger
61. Mobilize human and material resources to support agricultural production
62 Initiative disaster response and resilience in the floods affected communities;
63. Increase the annual budgets of the Ministry of Health in accordance to Abuja protocol to procure essential items to save lives and reduce suffering.
64. Improve the environment of schools to realised quality educatior
65. Immediately return grabbed school lands;
66. Immediate return grabbed public recreation and sport grounds,
67. Establish and provide an annual budget for students support fund.
68. Provide more funds for development of vocational training centers in all States and Administrative Areas;
69. Reconstitute Primary and Secondary School Examinations Councils,
70. Recruit qualified teachers both at primary and secondary levels:
71. Improve drinking water system and sanitation in the country;
72.Connect Juba City and other cities to a piped water distribution system to provde safe, clean, affordable and accessible water, and at the same time generate income for the government through service and user charges;
73.Increase grants allocated to counties, municipalities and town councils,
74. Improve road and transportation networks across the country,
75 State and Administrative Areas to facilitate the acquisition of local materials for roads construction and give right of way,
76. Persuade mobile networks operators to install netw work to the remote villages
77. Review the aviation law to avoid issuing of licenses by the Aviation Authority to old aviation companies;
78. Strengthen customary law courts to provide effective justice service,
79.Construct police, prisons, public prosecution attorney and judicial offices in counties,
80. Establish community police to support police in enforcing law;
81.Ensure all citizens have equal opportunity to secure plots in Juba; and
82. Construct Grand Fula Falls Dam to generate energy, and
83. Complete refinery and power plant at Tharjiath and the Tiein pipeline from Thanjath to
Paloch.