Latest: Machar accepts 10 states, but sets another precondition

February 15, 2020 Newsbeat

Opposition leader Dr. Riek Machar (Photo: File)

February 16, 2020 (SSNN)—South Sudan’s exiled opposition leader Dr. Riek Machar has hailed the step taken by President Salva Kiir in returning the country to its previous ten states, but he expressed concern about the three new administrative regions added by the government.

Below is the statement issued by the SPLM-IO

Press Statement on President Salva Kiir’s Resolution of the Meeting of the Presidency of ITGNU on the Number of States and their Boundaries

Today, President Salva Kiir has issued a resolution of the Presidency to return the country to ten (10) States and their previous respective counties; plus three (3) administrative areas namely:

Abyei Administrative Area (AAA),
Ruweng Administrative Area (RAA),
Greater Pibor Administrative Area (GAA).

The SPLM/SPLA (10) would like to appreciate the decision of the Presidency to revert to the ten states and their respective previous counties.

The ten states are:

Central Equatoria State;
Eastern Equeatoria State;
Lakes State;
Northern Bhar El Ghazal State;
Jonglei State;
Unity State;
Upper Nile State;
Warrap State;
Western Equatoria State;
Western Bahr El Ghazal State.

The SPLM/SPLA(I0JA is however, concerned of the creation of three administrative areas for the fallowing reasons:

Abyei Administrative has been part of Warrap State in the ten states configuration. Warrap State is composed of former Tonj and Gogrial districts and Abyei Administrative Area. Carving out Abyei divides Warrap State into two.
Ruweng Administrative Area is part of Unity State. Ruweng Administrative area as per the 32 states has serious boundaries issues with the neighboring communities of leek Nuer, Bul Nuer and Jikany Nuer. It has annexed northern areas of Bul, Leek and Jikany. This action is already contested by people of the affected communities. Creation of Ruweng Administrative Area also divides Unity state into two.
Greater Pibor Administrative Area is one of the former British districts of 1956 and also is one of the 23 former Rural Councils of 1960. It has clear boundaries with its neighboring former districts or former rural councils. However, Greater Pibor is part of Jonglei state and as thus carving it out of Jonglei State divides Jonglei State into two, One wonders what is it that qualifies Pibor alone to be an administrative area when many of the other former districts or rural councils have not qualified? Therefore, the decision of the Presidency to revert to ten state and the creation of new administrative areas cannot be referred to as reverting to ten (10) states as such cannot be accepted by SPLM/SPLA (I0). We therefore, call upon President Kiir to reconsider this idea of creating administrative areas as this opens up another Pandora box defeating the purpose of reverting to tenstate