Day: May 13, 2022

South Sudan’s Finance minister, Agak Achuil Lual has clarified on a statement in which he was quoted to have disclosed that the country’s oil proceeds had been sold off until 2027 to clear accrued loans.

The minister’s statement attracted a lot of public uproar as well as concerns.

But speaking to the state-owned television (SSBC) after being summoned by President Salva Kiir on Wednesday, Lual claimed he was quoted “out of context”.

“The statement about the proceeds of oil was taken out of the context. What I meant was not reported as I said. I said oil advances or commitments were spread up to 2027, but it does not mean the oil of South Sudan was sold out all,” said the minister.

He further added, “We still have our oil in the ground”.

According to the minister, the government was now looking for ways to increase the production of oil up to more than 300,000 barrels per day to address the economic crisis as well as raise revenues to pay the country’s civil servants.

“We still have all our resources in the ground and the government is embarking on an initiative of oil enhancement to increase the production of the oil,” stressed Lual.

He added, “We are working with Petroleum minister to increase oil production whereby if we reach 300,000-350,000 barrels per day, then it means talks on loans, debts and arrears will be eliminated as soon as our production increases.”

Revenue from oil account for more than 90% of South Sudan’s annual budget.

Source: Sudan Tribune

The United Nations Security Council on Thursday renewed the mandate of its interim security force in Abyei (UNISFA), a region contested by Sudan and South Sudan for six months.

Resolution 2630, acting under Chapter VII of the UN Charter and recognizing that the situation in Abyei constitutes a threat to international peace and security, extended the mission’s mandate until 15 November.

The Security Council first modified the mandate of the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) in December 2011 to add tasks of supporting a Joint Border Verification and Monitoring Mechanism (JBVMM) of Sudan and South Sudan, which gained independence from the former in July 2011.

Security Council Resolution 2630 also decided that UNISFA should maintain the authorized troop ceiling at 3,250 and authorized police ceiling at 640.

It urged the governments of Sudan and South Sudan to provide full support for UNISFA to implement its mandate and deployment personnel, reiterating that Abyei shall be demilitarized from any forces and armed elements of local communities, other than UNISFA and Abyei Police Service.

The UN interim force for the disputed area was set up by the Security Council in June 2011 following tensions between Sudan and South Sudan.

Meanwhile the Security Council also extended, until 15 November 2022, the mandate modification laid out in resolution 2024 (2011) and paragraph 1 of resolution 2075 (2012), providing for UNISFA’s support to the Joint Border Verification and Monitoring Mechanism, established to conduct monitoring and verification activities along the border between Sudan and South Sudan.

Source: Sudan Tribune

The trilateral mechanism, on Thursday, launched preliminary talks with the Sudanese stakeholders aiming to end the current political crisis in the country.

The AU, IGAD, and UNITAMS envoys held separate meetings with the two factions of the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC), the National Consensus (FFC-NC) and the Central Committee (FFC-CC) and the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).

The facilitators seek during these indirect preliminary meetings to establish common grounds between the parties to the Sudanese crisis.

“The trilateral mechanism said they are optimistic about progress, in view of the positive discussions in today’s meetings”.

“They expressed hope that these talks will facilitate a Sudanese parties’ agreement on a formulation that ends the current political crisis,” further stressed the statement.

For his part, Noreldaem Taha, FFC NC Deputy Secretary-General said in a statement released after the meeting reiterated their serious commitment to the process to prevent bilateral domination by “unelected groups”.

Taha further added the meeting discussed the Sovereign Council, the government, the mechanism for choosing and appointing the Prime Minister, the Legislative Council, the judiciary, commissions, the government’s program, completing peace, and issues related to the root causes of the crisis.

The FFC-NC formed by some signatory armed groups backed the military coup that toppled the Hamdok government accusing the political groups in the FFC-CC of monopolizing power.

Meanwhile, the political coalition of the Central Committee reiterated their commitment to the intra-Sudanese process, adding they handed over a written position paper to the facilitators.

“We also stress that we will not allow remnants of the former regime and coup forces to build a political majority through the political process to deviate (…) ending the coup and establishing a course of genuine democratic civil transformation”.

In their position paper seen by the Sudan Tribune, the coalition called to suspend the reinstatement in the civil service of the former regime members and to not return properties expropriated by the committee with the dismantling of the former regime.

The FFC-CC said it should be part of the confidence-building measures.

The paper further proposes that the dialogue should be divided into two steps.

The first phase should focus on ending the coup, removing its effects, and establishing a new constitutional legitimacy, popularly acceptable. while the second deal with restoring the civil-led transition.

Source: Sudan Tribune

A South Sudanese official on Wednesday described an “unfortunate” a recent United Nations report claiming the revitalised peace agreement, which the country’s civil war, was fueling conflict.

“Usually, peace agreements are signed to end conflict. This was the purpose of the agreement on resolution of the conflict in South Sudan and now you have people saying the agreement is fueling the conflict. This is not the correct analysis of the situation”, Cabinet Affairs minister, Martin Elia Lomuro said Wednesday.

He explained that military officers or politicians moving from a political party to another do not translate to fueling conflict.

The minister was reacting to a recent UN panel of experts on South Sudan which revealed that the revitalized peace agreement of 2018, instead of mitigating, has become a contributory factor to fueling violence across the country.

It claimed every component of the peace deal is now hostage to the political calculations of the military and security elites.

“Rather than breaking the violent cycle of elite political bargaining in South Sudan, the 2018 Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (the peace agreement) has become part of it,” partly noted the UN report.

It added, “Almost every component of the peace agreement is now hostage to the political calculations of the country’s military and security elites, who use a combination of violence, misappropriated public resources, and patronage to pursue their own narrow interests.”

The experts said much of the peace agreement remains gridlocked by political disputes between its principal signatories.

“At the national level, the absence of attractive alternatives and the benefits of projecting an outward commitment to peace has preserved the peace agreement and created some space for incremental progress,” the summary of the report read.

It further added, “The Transitional National Legislative Assembly was reconstituted in September 2021; the Public Financial Management Oversight Committee has brought some transparency to opaque public finances, and the training of some forces has been completed in anticipation of a unified national army.”

According to the experts, in parallel, however, powerful government officials have sought to erode the unity of key opposition groups by successfully courting the defection of senior commanders.

“As alliances have shifted, the fragile ceasefire has come under repeated pressure as defectors and loyalists have clashed, including over access to bases, weapons and lucrative assets, such as checkpoints and river ports,” it reads. “Regional commanders have, in turn, embarked on fresh waves of recruitment to swell their ranks and safeguard their standing, in violation of the terms of the peace agreement.”

“The zero-sum political calculus at the heart of the national political process has also fueled subnational rivalries and animosities, driving a wave of deadly subnational violence that has displaced tens of thousands of civilians and led to serious human rights abuses, including the sexual and gender-based violence that has become a tragic hallmark of the conflict in South Sudan,” the experts said.

According to the report, despite some procedural progress towards the implementation of the peace agreement, the conditions facing millions of civilians on the ground are getting worse as subnational violence, related displacement, and floods have combined to produce unprecedented levels of food insecurity across much of the country. Millions remain displaced, with around 70 percent of the population in need of humanitarian assistance.

The panel of experts also said an economic crisis, partly caused by the global pandemic and partly by domestic mismanagement, has added further challenges through inflation and the failure to pay the government employees’ salaries, upon which many depend, despite soaring oil prices.

“Leaders have instead tried to channel public resources into costly military procurement, including the import of armored personnel carriers, in violation of the arms embargo imposed on the entire territory of South Sudan by Security Council resolution 2428 (2018) and, most recently, renewed by Council resolution 2577 (2021),” the report said.

The report further observed that other regional tensions and disputes continue to limit engagement with the peace process in South Sudan, although the Sudan and Uganda have sought to break the impasse on specific issues.

Source: Sudan Tribune