By Bosco Bush
Government delegation, led by Senior Presidential Advisor Gen. Kuol Manyang Juuk, is expected to travel to Nairobi for the Tumaini Peace Initiative discussions once the necessary budget is approved.
The newly reconstituted 15-member delegation headed by Senior Presidential Advisor, Gen. Kuol Manyang Juuk has delayed reporting to the peace talks venue since its formation weeks ago.
However, the team has faced delays in reporting to the venue due to budgetary constraints.
Minister of Cabinet Affairs, Dr. Elia Lomuro, stated that the required arrangements and budget have been endorsed by relevant authorities.
Gen. Manyang is expected to present the final budget to the President for approval.
“Gen. Kuol has now approved whatever budget we presented to him and we are now ready to go. The budget is now officially approved transparently, and Gen. Manyang will now go to see the President to give his okay,” said Lomuro.
The minister also expressed the team’s willingness to bring total peace to the country through constructive engagement with the holdout opposition groups.
“We are going to bring peace to our country, we are going to engage with our brothers and sisters who are holding out because we believe that this is the last talk that we need to talk among ourselves and to come home with total peace for everybody.”
“We deserve to be a peaceful prosperous country because this is a country that has come up out of a long period of war from 1947,” said the minister.
On November 8, the High-Level Mediation for Tumaini Peace Initiative announced the resumption of the peace talks between South Sudan government and non-signatories to 2018 peace agreement.
The discussion was expected to last for only two weeks effective from November 14, before a final deal is sealed.
This decision follows a meeting between Kenyan President William Ruto and South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir in Juba.
The two leaders instructed the mediators to conclude the talks.
However, the government delegation is yet to report to the venue.