President Kiir, Dr. Machar meet as party shares stance on the peace talks
Presidential Advisor on National Security Affairs, Tut Gatluak, announced that the Presidency will hold an expanded meeting on Friday to discuss the potential resumption of Tumaini
By James Chatim
In the countdown to the resumption of the final phase of the Nairobi-led Tumaini peace Initiative, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Opposition (SPLM-IO) party, led by First Vice President Riek Machar, has advised that the peace initiative should complement, and deviate or change trajectory from the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS).
Speaking exclusively to The City Review on Thursday, Puok Both Baluang, the Press Secretary in the office of First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar, expressed that the Tumaini peace process is purposed to be complementary to the R-ARCSS and should not be a standalone agreement.
Baluang said his party is still in its previous position that the recent Nairobi peace talks between the government and holdout groups is not to replace the 2018 agreement.
“Tumaini should not deviated from its initial purpose. It is supposed to be a complementary to the R-ARCSS. And should not be a standalone agreement,” Baluang said.
The Press Secretary in the office of the First Vice President added that President Kiir and Dr. Machar are expected to meet today to discuss several issues including implementation of 2018 Agreement, economy and the Tumaini Consensus.
The new government delegation for Tumaini
Further, Baluang revealed that the R-ARCSS signatory parties have formed a delegation for the Tumaini talks, headed by Presidential Advisor General Kuol Manyang, Minister of Petroleum Puot Kang as deputy and Dr. Elia Lomuro as the rapporteur, to continue the Tumaini peace process with the holdout group.
“The two leaders will discuss the implementation of the Peace Accord, and the ways to rescue our economy. But also, other issues pertaining to the Tumaini Consensus as well as the general situation in the country,” he said.
“The delegation has been formed already and it will be led by the presidential advisor, the Senior Presidential Advisor General Kuol Manyang, and deputised by Horrible Puot Kang the Minister of Petroleum, and the reporteur is the Minister of Cabinet Affairs Honorable Dr. Elia Lomuro plus others,” added Baluang.
When asked about his perspective on whether the two weeks timeline issued for the completion of the talks by the two heads of state (Kenya’s President William Ruto and South Sudan’s Kiir) was enough, Baluang said: “If there is a genuine will, the two weeks is more than enough as long as all the people share the same interest, or the common interest that of bringing comprehensive peace in South Sudan and all parties rejoin the process of the 2018 agreement.”
Baluang was speaking to the City Review just moments after President Kiir and First Vice President Dr. Machar held a high-level meeting, which, the Presidency’s official social media page stated, was convened to ‘assess the implementation of the Revitalised peace agreement, as well as the means to address the current economic challenges, including the critical flow of the oil through Sudan.’
Presidential Advisor on National security Affairs Tut Gatluak announced that an expanded meeting of the Presidency is scheduled for Friday to deliberate on the resumption of the Nairobi Tumaini Peace Initiative.
Tut reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to achieving lasting peace and stability throughout the nation as it embarks on extensive mediation efforts.
Recently, Pagan Amum Okiech, the leader of the opposition Real SPLM at the Tumaini Peace Initiative, while speaking to Radio Tamazuj said it was apparent the High-Level Committee that toured the region failed to achieve its objective to kill Tumaini after President William Ruto visited Juba on the invitation of President Salva Kiir. “We hope that the government is ready to finalize the Tumaini Initiative so that we can sign a final agreement within two weeks. We hope that the government will be serious and will not call for the renegotiation of the agreement that lasted several months,” he said.
Amum further added that the Vice-President, Dr James Wani, had recently indicated that he was for peace and the government was ready for the same, but some individuals were afraid that they might lose their positions after the signing of the Tumaini agreement, and that they put their interests before public’s.
He added that based on their experiences, they have come up with proposals and suggestions that led them to a number of mechanisms that are strong enough to ensure the full implementation of the agreement.
According to him, since independence, the government has failed to implement agreements and they found that there was a lack of a transparent management of public resources and therefore came up with mechanisms that ensure transparency and accountability in the management of resources and ensure the implementation of the agreement.
Eyes will be on the two top leaders and allied parties as they deliberate on the resumption of the Nairobi Tumaini Peace Initiative, as advised by Presidential Advisor on National security Affairs Tut Gatluak on Thursday.
