By Bida Elly David
The Executive director of the Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO) said that delays for the deployment of the first phase of graduated unified forces were tactics by the leaders within the system to control resources and undermine democracy.
In a statement extended to No.1 Citizen Daily Newspaper yesterday, Mr. Edmund Yakani, the executive director of CEPO said that greed over resources, and lack of democratic will made the government to delay deployment of the first batch of the unified forces.
Mr. Yakani, said the great obstacle that created the deployment of the graduated unified forces was deficit in political leadership, trust and confidence as well as political self-interest.
“The delays in timely redeployment of the unified forces by the parties, security and defense wings are just tactics created to undermine the genuine establishment of democracy and adhering to civil-rule security and defense institutions,” he said.
The activist added that self-interest over controlling security and defense, public power and resources are some of the political factors that delayed the graduation of the forces.
“These acts of hiding guns, manipulating ranks, selective sending of forces for unification process, hiding of facts around forces and capability, rigidity in facilitating process of unification, delay of funds for supporting forces training and graduation and politicizing the process of rank unification or rights sizing, all these are acts that clearly demonstrate lack of political commitment and deficit in trust and confidence among the parties’ leadership,” he said.
Mr. Yakani said that the implementation of the adopted R-ARCSS roadmap for implementing the pending tasks will suffer from the same sickness of creating tactical excuses for undermining genuine transitional security arrangements.
Furthermore, he said that without real and proper change of political attitudes among the parties the process of transitioning the situation from violence to peace through the adopted roadmap of R-ARCSS is highly to fail.
“As the end of the 36 months for the transitional period is soon and the roll out of the extended 24 months is kicking-off, the political leadership of the Country is highly required to demonstrate total change of political attitudes and demonstration real political commitment for peace and stability to prevail,” he said.
He finally said that, CEPO with due respect and honor urges the political leadership to speedily act on some of the pending tasks of the R-ARCSS before 22nd February, 2023 marks.