By Yiep Joseph
People’s Coalition for Civil Action (PCCA) has called on the government to double efforts in ensuring that the Tumaini Peace Initiative succeeds.
The group claimed that the Tumaini talks continues to delay due to the government’s unwillingness.
This month the talks between the government delegation and South Sudan Opposition Movements Alliance (SSOMA) under the Tumaini talks in Nairobi were postponed after the government delegation demanded time to do consultation in Juba.
According to the Kenyan mediators in Nairobi, the talks are set to start in mid-January.
However, while addressing the media during the adjournment of the talks this month, the government expressed willingness to go back for talks after consultation.
However, according to a Christmas message dated 24 December 2024, PCCA called on the government to return for talks as stated by the mediators.
“The PCCA urges the government delegation to confirm and return to the Tumaini Peace Initiative in accordance with the date set by the mediation to finalize the negotiations starting from where it stopped in early September 2024,” the statement partly read.
The group called on South Sudanese to maintain hope and embrace unity.
“PCCA calls upon the people of South Sudan to unite and resist the growing autocratic rule, economic deprivation, and constant fear of insecurity in the country,” it read.
The group said the government of South Sudan has undermined the Tumaini Peace Initiative, once again denying the nation the chance to achieve lasting peace.
The group appealed to the citizen to maintain hope, citing that there is a bright future.
“Together, we can build a nation founded on peace, justice, and prosperity. South Sudan deserves better, and its people deserve nothing less than a future defined by hope, dignity, and opportunity,” the statement read.
Recently the Executive Director for Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO) Edmund Yakani called on government and opposition groups to commit to Tumaini Peace Initiative.
In a statement extended to media Yakani called on the parties to focus on compromises to give peace a chance.
In December 2023, President Salva Kiir requested President William Ruto of Kenya to take over the mediation lead from the Community of Sant’Egidio in Rome, Italy, saying that the talks with the holdout opposition group had taken long without reaching a solution.
The talks started in Nairobi on 9 May but halted in July after representatives of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-in-Opposition (SPLM-IO) led by First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar walked out but resumed last week after a newly constituted government delegation arrived in Nairobi.