By Bida Elly David
South Sudan’s government spokesperson, Michael Makuei Lueth has downplayed pressure by citizens and activists to urgently deploy the first phase of the Unified forces as a necessary condition for the conduct of the 2024 polls.
Speaking to the media on Friday, Makuei said the pressure against the government to implement the security arrangement will not work.
“The implementation of the security arrangement through the road map is not an event, so people should not get frightened because they have not seen anything yet,” he said.
“The fact that the security forces are not deployed up to now and that phase two of the forces is not yet in the training center does not mean we have failed.”
He said the graduation and deployment of forces is taking time because officers have not yet been commissioned.
“The deployment and graduation of forces is still in the process up to now, we have not received the final recommendation from the presidency so that the offices are commissioned,” he added.
Despite all the critics and the doubts that there will be no elections there will be elections, Makuei assured that the security arrangement will be implemented, and the election would be conducted.
Activist Edmund Yakani, the Executive Director of Community Empowerment for Progress Organization blamed the government for all the delays.
Yakani said that the government must respect the agreement and implement the security arrangement as soon as possible noting that citizens are tired of being delayed.
In June government assured the public that the first batch of South Sudan’s graduated Unified Forces were soon to vacate training centers for assignment areas as their deployment was due last month or early this month.
But, despite the promise made, implementation of the promise was withheld as necessary preparations remained hanging with continuous procrastinating statements from the authority.