Dr. Lam Akol’s NDM “surprised” by presidency’s “collegial” decision on states

May 8, 2020 News, Newsbeat, South Sudan

National Democratic Movement, Dr. Lam Akal(Photo credit: Nyamilepedia)

May 8, 2020 (SSNN) — South Sudan’s National Democratic Movement (NDM) led by Dr. Lam Akol Ajawin has rejected a decision by president Salva Kiir’s office claiming that the parties have agreed to the allocation of states.

The opposition group said it was surprised by the presidency statement because the matter was not resolved based on the revitalized peace agreement.

“The purported allocation of the States to the Parties The Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSsS) is predicated on responsibility sharing in an inclusive manner between the Parties to the agreement,” said the NDM statement.

“The formation of the Presidency in February and the Cabinet in March marked the commencement of the Transitional Period. However, the issue of allocating the States to the Parties proved to be a thorny one,” added the statement.

“The discussion between the two principals hit a deadlock last March and in accordance with Article 7.11 of R-ARCSS the matter was referred to RJMEC. After consulting with the other Parties on 27 March 2020, RIMEC made a recommendation to President Salva Kir that the agreement allocates the State Governors as 5:3:1:1 to ITGONU, SPLM/A-10, SSOA and OPP, respectively.

“The response of the President to that letter was being awaited. This is how things stand on the matter.”

The statement continued: “Yesterday, the 7th of May, we were surprised by a statement issued by the Minister of Presidential Affairs in the name of the Presidency making an allocation of the State Governors.

“It gave ITGONU six (6) as opposed to five (5) States and denied the OPP representation given it by R-ARCSS. Stemming from its keenness to see that R-ARCSS is implemented in full and inclusively, The National Democratic Movement (NDM) would like to make its position on the matter crystal clear.

The statement said the presidency statement was “a flagrant violation of the Agreement and should be declared null and void.”