By Gladys Fred Kole
President Salva Kiir Mayardit yesterday officially reopened the reconstituted transitional national legislature, marking a significant step forward in the country’s political landscape.
After a hiatus of nearly four months, during which lawmakers were on recess, the parliament revived with a renewed focus on resolving the country’s economic crisis.
Lawmakers have promised to prioritize discussions aimed at tackling the pressing economic challenges faced by the nation.
Speaker of Parliament Rt. Hon. Jemma Nunu Kumba expressed hope that their experiences and interactions with the citizens during this period would guide their debates and conduct in the upcoming session.
Several MPs voiced their concerns regarding the current state of affairs.
Juma Zakaria representing Jur River County, Western Barhl el Ghazal emphasized the need for the parliament to address the challenges faced by citizens, rather than solely focusing on passing bills.
He highlighted issues such as the dollar exchange rate and the whereabouts of the oil money that is insufficient to pay civil servants salaries.
“Until now since the parliament opened, we have been passing bills but we are not concerned about the situation of our citizens.” Juma
“The parliament should address this issue of dollars instead of arresting those youths selling dollars it is these big people who have this money and they should be the ones being cracked down. This issue should be addressed by the parliament,” Juma added.
Similarly, Juol Nhomngek, representing Cueibet County, expressed relief that parliament was reopening, as the citizens had been suffering in silence for the past three months.
He called for MPs to fulfil their duty and work towards alleviating the hardships faced by the people.
“For the last three months the country has been in silence and the citizens have been suffering across the country, the workforce has not been paid for the last seven months and the MPs have been sent to represent their citizens at the same time there not doing their work now it’s time to work,” Juol said.
Another lawmaker, Dr. Gheda James Killa, representing Yei Constituency, stressed the urgency of addressing the country’s current inflation and economic situation.
“By either summoning the minister of finance and the central bank governor in order for them to come and explain so that the citizens can hear what is going wrong in this country, because the dollar fluctuation, food commodities, things are really very expensive,” she stressed.
She highlighted that this opportunity would also allow them to examine the situation and summon the Minister of Investment to explain the delay in bringing the investment act amendment to the parliament.
“I look into this because most of the investments are carried out by foreigners and citizens are doing silly investments these silly investments of like selling tea if you see women surrounding themselves on the streets, these shows lack of support,” she said.
“Without backing our own people believe me this country will not move forward. We need to prioritize our citizens’ affairs and then we look forward to other businesses like elections that will be conducted in December,” she expressed.
The reopening ceremony took place in the newly constructed hall, where President Kiir also unveiled the renovated main building.
The reopening marks the official return of the parliament, which now aims to address the economic crisis and navigate the challenges of transition, in order to rebuild a stable and inclusive governance for South Sudan.