Sudan’s SPLM SG to lead negotiations on post-referendum arrangements

July 17, 2010 (JUBA) — The Secretary General of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) and minister for the newly created Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS) ministry of Peace and Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) Implementation, Pagan Amum, will lead the upcoming negotiations on post-referendum issues.

Sudan is six months away from the referendum to be held as part of a 2005 peace agreement that ended a two-decade war between the mostly Christian south and the Muslim north.

There is regional and international concern on the possible fallout from delay in ironing out post-referendum issues which could possibly provoke a return to war between North and South according to many analysts.

A Southern Sudan Referendum Taskforce has been established under the chairmanship of the GoSS Vice President, Riek Machar, and mandated with the responsibility to prepare the region for the referendum as well as prepare GoSS for 2011 governance.

Amum’s working group, which is sub-committee number two in the Taskforce, will deal with the issues that include citizenship and what to do with the country’s debts, assets, international agreements, water, oil (production and transport), security in addition to export terminals, etc in case of separation.

This will also include the discussions on the future of Sudan should Southerners vote for unity.

The Taskforce has two other sub-committees; the first sub-committee that deals with the conduct of the referendum is headed by the minister of Legal Affairs and Constitutional Development, John Jok.

The first sub-committee will handle the conduct of the referendum itself which includes civic education, mobilization of voters, maintenance of security, etc, while the third sub-committee on post-2011 governance in Southern Sudan is headed by the minister of Cabinet Affairs, Kosti Manibe, and will work on system of governance, including review of the interim constitution, decentralization and restructuring of government institutions, among others, after the referendum.

The referendum body held a meeting on Friday to identify lead negotiators in various sub-committees and membership of their respective working groups.
It has also established its secretariat to be headed by the Minister in the Office of the President, Cirino Ofuho, along with experts from different fields.
Machar, who chaired the meeting, urged the lead negotiators and their respective working groups to get prepared for the task which will kick off on 18th July.

The meeting also resolved that the Taskforce shall be meeting once a week on Thursdays for weekly briefings and reporting by the working groups to the overall Taskforce.

An overwhelming majority of Southern Sudanese is expected to vote for secession though the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) pledged to work for unity in the time left to referendum.

(ST)