By William Maduok
Revitalized National Legislative Assembly has approved the Transitional Constitution of South Sudan, 2011 Amendment Bill No. 12, 2024, incorporating the extension of the unity government’s term by two years.
The August House, during an extraordinary sitting, moved swiftly yesterday to pass the Constitutional Amendment Bill 2024.
Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs Ruben Madol tabled it before the parliament, a day after the Bill was passed by the Cabinet.
After first reading, Speaker Rt. Hon. Jemma Nunu promptly referred the bill to the specialized Committee on Legislation and Justice for a thorough review, allowing just one hour for scrutiny before it was returned to the Assembly for debate.
Members of Parliament unanimously approved the bill, along with all its amendments and recommendations after discussions.
“The transitional constitution of South Sudan, 2011 amendment No.12, Bill 2024 is hereby passed at its fourth and final reading and that is in totality,” Nunu announced to the MPs.
“As we have extended, we must also come out with a very clear roadmap immediately as to how we are going to spend this 24 months – by actually coming up with a very clear roadmap also supported by a budget,” she noted.
She urged the parties to the 2018 deal to expedite pending provisions, like security arrangements, constitution making-process just to mention but a few, to exit the nation to peaceful polls at the end of this transition.
Reacting to the move, Mr. Edmund Yakani, the executive director of Community Empowerment Organization said lack of political will was the reason why the leaders are now running a marathon race for legitimacy.
“This ratification shows you very clearly that when political parties lack political will and commitment to deliver agreement they always act under pressure,” he said.
“This is really a marathon ratification, now we have an extension of marathon run – we hope that the marathon they have demonstrated in ratifying this bill show be used in allocating money to implementation of R-ARCESS,” he added.
He called on the political parties to demonstrate political will and implement pending provisions.
Last week, the Presidency extended the transitional period by two years, allowing them to stay in power until 2026.
It received backing from the cabinet and the Revitalized Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (R-JMEC).
With the parliament’s amendment of the transitional constitution, the extension has now met all the legal requirements for full operation.
However, the United States of America and some Western countries that fund the 2018 peace agreement have objected to the extension, although the Islamic Council, civil society and the business community all voted to approve the extension.
Speaking at R-JMEC’s meeting on Wednesday, Michael J. Adler, the U.S. Ambassador to South Sudan, expressed strong criticism of the leaders for their failure to implement existing peace agreements.
Ambassador Adler stated that the United States does not support the extension because it prioritizes the privileges of politicians over the welfare of the South Sudanese people.
“While we recognize elections cannot be held this year because of leadership failures, we cannot endorse this extension because we are not prepared to endorse the status quo that prioritizes the privileges of the elites over the welfare of the South Sudanese people, hence we abstain,” Adler said on Wednesday.
The US ambassador reiterated that another extension justified the unwillingness of South Sudanese leaders to achieve peace and go for election.
“Another extension of the transitional period marks the failure of South Sudan leaders to create the conditions necessary for a genuine, peaceful, and inclusive election,” he said.
“We are deeply disappointed by this failure because peace is our priority, and we are convinced the best way to secure peace in South Sudan is by creating the conditions to hold such an election,” he added.
Adler said that regardless of receiving support from the international community, the political leaders in South Sudan refuse to implement the pending tasks.
Meanwhile, in a separate joint statement issued by the British Embassy, Norwegian Embassy, United States, Kingdom of the Netherlands, Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany, Canada, and France, the Western nations expressed that the extension will lead to increased spending.
“A 24-month extension would mean 24 months more expenditure on the institutions that implement the peace process,” the statement read.
The Western countries blamed the political leader for making promises that they could not fulfil, adding that during the roadmap the leaders promised to hold elections this year.
“We wish to express our disappointment at this decision, as the timely holding of election is a key element in strengthening stability, democracy and sustainable development. They own this decision and are accountable to the people of South Sudan,” the statement added.