By Charles K Mark
A civil society activist has slammed lawmakers for awarding themselves $ 15,000 each, forgetting to implement the revitalized peace agreement.
Executive Director of the Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO), Edmond Yakani said the lawmakers have preferred their own interests than peace.
“The implementation of Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS) is suffocating and dragging due to claims of lack of funds,” Yakani lamented.
He said the $ 15,000 dollars given to each of the 550 lawmakers means the government spends $ 8,250,000, a year, to cater for health of the members of the August house.
“This total is enough for the dissemination of the R-ARCSS. Furthermore, $ 8,250,000 can build two state hospitals or cover the cost for paying civil servants’ salaries at the state.” Yakani criticized.
He emphasized that the allocation of national resources is not prioritizing financing of the pending tasks of the peace roadmap or R-ARCSS for successful political transition to democracy in South Sudan.
“The allocation of the $15,000 per national MP shows total underrating of the financing of the political transitional process.” Echoed Yakani
The civil rights’ activist alleged that the use of national revenue for personal gains seems more important than placing it for financing pending tasks of the R-ARCSS, a genuine political transitional process.
CEPO’s executive director urged that it is time for the national political leadership to really prioritize the financing of implementation of the pending tasks of the revitalized peace agreement.
Under the agreed and extended period, the countdown to the end of the roadmap reads 24 months to the deadline.
Yakani thinks chances of adequate financing of the pending tasks of the R-ARCSS is not a priority for the Government of National Unity (R-TGoNU).
The government had promised the deployment of the first batch of the graduated Necessary Unified Forces supposedly by 15th of August 2023 but nothing yet of that kind has materialized.
Edmond alleged that giving money equivalent to $15,000 per Annam to every Parliamentarian calculating the 550 representatives portrays lack of gravity and limited political obligation for funding the execution of the pending tasks of the R-ARCSS.
“CEPO is urging the ministry of finance and planning to allocate funds for timely implementation of the R-ARCSS” reiterated CEPO’s Edmund Yakani.
During the 31st monthly plenary meetings of the Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (R-JMEC), the National Transitional Committee, (NTC) said it is seeking for 2.5 billion South Sudanese Pounds (SSP) that was approved for the security mechanism activities.
The head of the NTC secretariat, Stephen Par Kuol said NTC was still following up on the approved 3,671,100 pounds by the council of ministers to cover the cost of assorted food items for phase II unified forces.