-Rt Honourable Speaker,

-     Rt Honourable Deputy Speakers,

-     Honourable Members,

-     Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen.

Good morning!

1.    At the outset, I would like to thank Right Honourable Jemma Nunu Kumba, Speaker of the reconstituted Transitional National Legislative Assembly (TNLA) for inviting the Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (RJMEC) to brief this august Assembly on the status of implementation of the Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS).

2.    As you are aware, RJMEC is the institution established under Chapter 7 of the Revitalised Peace Agreement with the mandate to, inter alia, oversee, monitor and report on the status of implementation of the Agreement.

3.    Further, RJMEC is mandated to submit quarterly reports to, and brief the Executive of the Revitalised Transitional Government of National Unity (RTGoNU) and its Council of Ministers; the reconstituted TNLA; the Chairperson of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Assembly of Heads of State and Government; the Chairperson of the IGAD Council of Ministers; the Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC); the Peace and Security Council (PSC) of the African Union (AU); the Secretary-General, and the Security Council of the United Nations.

4.    In light of the aforementioned, this briefing summarises the latest RJMEC Quarterly Report covering the period from 1st July to 30th September 2024 and builds on the previous report presented to this august Assembly on 06th August 2024. 

5.    I will therefore highlight key chapter by chapter update on the status of implementation of the Revitalised Peace Agreement as reported, any recent developments, as well as pending tasks, challenges impacting implementation, steps RJMEC has undertaken to encourage the implementers, guarantors and partners to address them, and conclude with recommendations. 

Right Hon. Speaker, Honorable Members,

6.    Regarding preparations for elections, under governance, it should be recalled that early this year, RJMEC raised concerns on the slow implementation of the critical tasks required for the conduct of elections as scheduled in December 2024 and the lack of consensus among the Parties. 

7.    In that regard, RJMEC urged the Parties to urgently dialogue within the spirit of consensus, compromise and agree on the way forward to the conduct of elections in a timely manner. RJMEC further urged the Parties to continue with the implementation of the uncompleted tasks of the R-ARCSS. 

8.    Consequently, the Parties tasked the implementation mechanisms, namely the National Elections Commission (NEC), the Political Parties Council (PPC), the National Constitutional Review Commission (NCRC), the National Bureau of Statistics, the Security Mechanisms and the Electoral Security Committee to assess their completed, ongoing and pending tasks and what would be required to accomplish them before the elections. 

9.    Following extensive deliberations over the criticality of the pending tasks such as the unification of forces, the permanent constitution which should guide elections and insufficient preparations for the conduct of elections, the Parties to the Agreement, by consensus, agreed in September 2024, to extend the Transitional Period from 22nd February 2025 to 22nd February 2027, with elections rescheduled to December 2026. 

10.   The decision to extend the transition period was endorsed by the RTGoNU Council of Ministers and consented to by RJMEC at its Extraordinary Meeting of 18th September 2024 in accordance to Article 8.4 of the R-ARCSS. Subsequently, this august Assembly ratified the decision on 20th September 2024 and was assented to by H.E. Salva Kiir Mayardit, President of the Republic of South Sudan, on 21stSeptember 2024.  

Right Hon. Speaker, Honorable Members,

11.   On judicial reforms, the report of the Judicial Reform Committee (JRC) was pending validation, as reported in the last quarter. However, since then, there has been some positive development in this regard. The JRC final report was recently validated and subsequently submitted to the RTGoNU for its consideration and adoption. RJMEC welcomes this development and underscores the importance of a reformed, independent and effective judiciary as an important anchor of stability, rule of law and promotion of human rights. Accordingly, the RTGoNU is urged to expedite the adoption and implementation of the JRC’s recommendations.

12.   RJMEC applauds this august Assembly for the continuous discharge of its legislative functions and for enacting laws in support of the implementation of the Agreement. It is encouraging that most of the Agreement-related laws have already been enacted by this august Assembly. The recent laws which received Presidential assent include The Tourism Act; The Public Financial Management and Accountability Act; The National Bureau of Statistics Act; The Commission for Truth, Reconciliation and Healing Act; The Civil Aviation Authority Act; and The Compensation and Reparations Authority Act. This is a welcome development and RJMEC looks forward to the enacted laws being operationalised.

13.   However, during this reporting quarter, RJMEC noted with concern that there was a reduction in the positions held by women in the Executive, contrary to the minimum 35% threshold as stipulated in the Agreement. For example, the former Mayor of Juba City, a female, was replaced by a male. Further, it is observed that the only female governor in the country was recently replaced by a male governor, making all the ten states to have 0% women governor.  RJMEC urges that whenever a female incumbent is replaced, the Parties to the Agreement should pay due consideration to the 35% minimum requirement of women’s representation in the executive and other decision-making bodies as stipulated in the R-ARCSS. In this regard, the RJMEC further remains concerned with the lack of adherence by the NEC to the 35% women representation in the appointment of the State High Committees. 

Right Hon. Speaker, Honorable Members,

14.   During the reporting period, the Permanent Ceasefire continued to hold, with no major clashes among the forces of the Parties to the R-ARCSS. However, some incidents of intercommunal violence were reported in Unity, Jonglei, and Lakes States, compounded by some security-related incidents in Juba. 

15.   In addition, sporadic clashes between the SSPDF and the National Salvation Front (NAS) of Lt Gen. Thomas Cirillo were reported in some parts of Central Equatoria State. CTSAMVM could not fully investigate and report on the SSPDF and NAS clashes because NAS does not have representation in CTSAMVM and there is no communication between CTSAMVM and NAS, despite the NAS allied to Gen. Cirillo having signed the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement of December 2017.

16.   During the quarter, CTSAMVM submitted two violation reports, including one on the clash between the Unity State Governor’s Convoy Protection Team and SPLM/A-IO Forces in Jamus/Barkuor, Unity State. RJMEC submitted the reports to the Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) of the SSPDF and the Chairperson of the Joint Defence Board (JDB) urging implementation of the CTSAMVM recommendations on these two incidents.

17.   On Transitional Security Arrangements, there has been very little progress on the unification of forces since the last report. The political process for the unification of the second command echelon has not yet been concluded.  However, in July 2024, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) appointed 2,995 non-commissioned officers (NCOs) of the Necessary Unified Forces (NUF) police component into the South Sudan National Police Service (SSNPS).

18.   On humanitarian affairs, UNOCHA reported that humanitarian access was severely hampered by floods, bureaucratic hurdles, and a sharp rise in attacks on aid workers and facilities, with 52 incidents reported in August alone. Main supply routes in Malakal, Longochuk, Maban, Old Fangak, Rubkona, and Southern Unity were rendered impassable. 

19.   Due to these challenges on the use of road transport, the reliance on expensive air and river transport left more than 400,000 vulnerable people without essential support. Access to those in need was further constrained by the escalation of security incidents in various parts of the country, heightening the risk to humanitarian workers.

20.   It is expected that the passage of the NGO Bill which is before this august Assembly, will help create a more conducive working environment for NGOs in South Sudan, thus improving access to those in need. By the end of the quarter, over 800,000 returnees and refugees had crossed into South Sudan, fleeing from the conflict in Sudan. Out of these, more than half remained stranded at the border counties in northern Upper Nile State, northern Unity State, and Northern Bahr el Ghazal State, in dire need of food, shelter and health services, among others.

21.   In terms of resource, economic and financial management,   the South Sudan Revenue Authority (SSRA) has continued to outperform its targets in mobilising non-oil revenue and was able to largely support the government’s budget during this quarter. This increase was attributed to increased domestic revenue through higher personal income tax collections, which accounted for fifty per cent of the total.  

22.   The Revenue Authority embarked on several capacity-building activities that have enhanced its ability to assess, collect and administer taxation. Further reforms are expected such as a review of the Customs Valuation Exchange rate, reduction in tax exemptions by 50%, introduction of betting, gaming, and lotteries tax and that of a Digital Service Tax (DST). 

23.   The establishment of an effective public procurement and payroll system and cleansing exercise under the public service reform efforts are ongoing. The focus is on the civil service, as the security services are already the relevant systems in place. 

24.   The Draft National Budget for Fiscal Year 2024/2025 was submitted to this august Assembly on 25 September 2024  three months behind the budget preparation schedule. The Resource Envelope for the period was given as SSP 2.258 trillion and the spending limit approved by the Cabinet was SSP 4.172 trillion. This created a spending gap or deficit that is estimated to be 85 percent of the available revenue. This deficit is to be financed through recovery in oil production, exchange rate alignment between the government official rate and the market determined rate, and concessional loans. 

25.   Recently, the regulations which govern the Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets Authority and the Bank of South Sudan’s statutory functions have been developed, thereby facilitating optimal execution of its mandate. In particular, efforts have been made in strengthening the financial system by the Bank of South Sudan to promote financial stability through the development of prudential regulations and frameworks. 

Right Hon. Speaker, Honorable Members,

26.   Under transitional justice, accountability, reconciliation and healing, the Bills on the Commission for Truth, Reconciliation and Healing (CTRH) and the Compensation and Reparation Authority (CRA) which were passed by this august Assembly during the last quarter were pending assent; these two bills have now been assented to by the President. In that regard, RJMEC welcomes this development and calls for their operationalisation.

27.   In terms of the permanent constitution-making process, during the reporting period, the reconstituted National Constitutional Review Commission (NCRC) continued to develop its work plans and strategy, conducted capacity building of its personnel and upgraded its institutional infrastructure as it awaits substantive funding from the RTGoNU to embark on civic education and public consultations. RJMEC notes that the NCRC is ready and capable to deliver upon its mandate, if adequately resourced. The TNLA is encouraged to prevail on the Executive of the RTGoNU to avail the requisite funding, in a timely and predictable manner, to all the Agreement mechanisms to deliver on their mandates. 

Right Hon. Speaker, Honorable Members,

28.   The implementation of the R-ARCSS has persistently faced recurring challenges resulting in a relatively slow pace of implementation. Among them are insufficient political will; lack of sufficient funding to the Agreement Institutions and Mechanisms;  trust deficit among the Parties; capacity gaps within the various implementation mechanisms; persistent levels of intercommunal violence in some states; insecurity caused by activities of some holdout groups, severe flooding and ramifications of the conflict in Sudan.

29.   In order to help the RTGoNU and the Parties to address these impediments, RJMEC has been holding high-level engagements with the members of the Presidency, the RTGoNU Executive, the leadership of the Parties, other South Sudanese stakeholders and adherents, regional guarantors, and partners and friends of South Sudan. RJMEC has urged them to demonstrate commitment and enhance support for the implementation of the R-ARCSS during the extended period.

30.   In light of the aforementioned, RJMEC offers the following recommendations: 

a.   To the Parties to the Agreement and Relevant Stakeholders:

i.       continue engaging in dialogue during this critical period of the extension with a view to implementing the critical outstanding tasks; and 

ii.     embrace the Tumaini Initiative as a means of bringing in the holdout groups in the spirit of inclusivity, forgiveness, reconciliation and furthering the prospects for sustainable and enduring peace in the country. 

b.   To the RTGoNU: 

i.       avail requisite funding, in a timely manner, to the Agreement institutions and mechanisms and avail the overall funding of the peace agreement, as a matter of priority; 

ii.     ensure that the judicial reforms process complements the permanent constitution-making process and the conduct of elections; 

iii.   expeditiously set up functioning CTRH and CRA institutions and begin the task of truth and reconciliation to complement the overall peace agreement; 

iv.   create an enabling civic and political space for citizens’ participation in governance;

v.     provide, as a matter of urgency, all the resources necessary to complete redeployment of the remaining NUF, and complete harmonisation of the command structure to achieve a unified force with a national character, under one Commander-in-Chief; 

vi.   pursue establishment of the Special Reconstruction Fund (SRF) and Board with a view to supporting the implementation of the R-ARCSS; and 

vii.     develop detailed workplans for the NCRC, Security Mechanisms, and the NEC while ensuring that these mechanisms are fully funded to allow them to continue the constitution-making and elections processes.

c.    To the TNLA: 

i.          expedite the enactment of all pending amendment bills; 

ii.        participate in creating an enabling civic and political space, including by considering to amend the NSS Act so as to address the contentious provisions on arrests without warrants and detention of suspects; and 

iii.      continue supporting the allocation of the requisite resources for the financing of the implementation of the Revitalised Peace Agreement. 

31.   In conclusion, despite the challenges, the country remains relatively peaceful.  RJMEC commends this august Assembly for its continued legislation and enactment of laws and oversight responsibilities. However, I would like to underscore that two years is a very short time and there is need for a sense of urgency, prioritization, focus and deliberate demonstration of practical implementation of the Agreement tasks within timelines. It cannot be business as usual; and much remains to be done if free, fair and credible elections have to be conducted by December 2026, under a permanent constitution as envisaged in the Agreement.   

32.   Therefore, having agreed to a two-year extension of the Peace Agreement, it is imperative that the RTGoNU, TNL and all other stakeholders should work diligently to complete the pending tasks of the Agreement, particularly those related to the Permanent Constitution-making, electoral preparations, unification of the forces, and transitional justice. At the same time, further opening up of civic and political space cannot be overemphasised, in order to provide an enabling environment for political participation by the general public, especially in the constitution-making and election processes.  

33.   All of these efforts should be consolidated by the RTGoNU availing sufficient financial resources to drive success in implementation of the R-ARCSS. The TNLA is therefore urged to enhance its effectiveness in discharging its oversight responsibility and to prevail on the RTGoNU to adhere to the agreed implementation schedule, provide funding and ensure accountable and transparent utilisation of allocated resources.

Right Hon. Speaker, Honorable Members, I Thank You!

…………………………………………………………….

Amb. Maj Gen (rtd) Charles Tai Gituai CBS

RJMEC Interim Chairperson