By Bida Elly David
An activist has called on the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning to speed up the conduct of the national economic conference called by H.E. President during the reopening of the national parliament.
In a statement extended to No.1 Citizen Daily Newspaper over the weekend, Edmund Yakani, the Executive Director for Community Empowerment for Progress Organization said that preparation of funding for electoral process is urgently needed for the country to conduct elections.
Edmund said that violation of the Presidential Order by the minister of finance will be a clear indication of underestimating the head of State and darkening the South Sudan future for the general elections.
Furthermore, Yakani said that the national economic conference is the only way for the leaders within the regime to figure out how financial resources will be generated for facilitating the coming democratic elections.
“Call of President Kiir for the conduct of the national economic conference is timely and needed to be carried out within this month of April, 2023. The country is heading towards the end of political transitional process through conduct of national general elections by December 2024. It is strategic that prioritizing funding for the electoral preparatory steps through the generated national revenue is essential” he said.
Moreover, Yakani said that, allocating national funds for financing the function of the national political parties ouncil, national elections commission and national constitution review commission including implementation of essential transitional security arrangements is needed.
In continuation, Yakani echoed that the national economic conference ought to be inclusive where government officials, stakeholders and persons with disabilities, youth and women participate and come up with concrete strategies in regards to how elections will be funded.
“The conduct of the national economic conference should be inclusive where government officials and national stakeholders namely persons with disabilities, women, youth, media, traders and faith-based leaders are availed open space for effective participation’’Yakani said.
He added that the expected national economic conference should also take stock on the previous economic evaluations, deliberations and findings like from the dura (sorghum) saga, Letter of Credit (LC) saga and crisis Management committee for sound improvement in the finance and economic sectors. However, Yakani underscored that the future of South Sudan elections can only be successful under the hands of the finance ministry and the Presidency.