Release referendum funds, UN panel urges Sudan government

By Julius N. Uma

October 15, 2010 (JUBA) The Government of National Unity (GoNU) and its southern counterpart should release funds set aside for the normal operations of Southern Sudan Referendum Commission (SSRC) and its bureau, Benjamin Mkapa, the Chairperson of the UN Secretary-General’s panel on Sudan’s referenda has urged.

Mkapa, according to a press release issued Friday, said he was particularly concerned about the slow pace at which money meant for hiring staff, training and transportation of voters’ registrations materials, was being availed to the commission.

“Funding from both the Government of National Unity and the Government of Southern Sudan is lagging. They must come forward with their share of the funds so that the commission and bureau can carry out their work,” Mkapa’s October 15 press release read.

Mkapa was appointed by the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in September.
With voter registration scheduled to begin November 14, the referendum bureau still lacks the capacity to operate, with no offices across the 10 states of southern Sudan.

The state referendum high committees still lack structures and many have not yet appointed country sub-committees.

Last week, however, Justice Chan Reec, the SSRC Deputy Chairperson said about $370m has been approved by government for funding the ongoing referendum processes, albeit the money has reportedly not yet been released. The government also approved money meant for operations of the state referendum high committee for a month.

Mkapa, who was the Tanzanian President from 1995 to 2005, also held talks with Sudan President Omar al-Bashir and his southern Sudan counterpart Salva Kiir Mayardit, as well as senior officials from both governments; members of the Southern Sudan Referendum Commission and Bureau; the Chairman and the Deputy Chairman of the Abyei Administration; civil society; observer groups; international organizations; donors and the diplomatic community.

The key issues discussed, centered on the challenges facing the referenda process, citing lack of funding, time constraints, lack of organizational capacities, security concerns and uncertainty on post-referendum arrangements.

Reacting to the failed Abyei negotiations in Addis Ababa, Mkapa remarked:

“We intend to return for our next visit next month when voter registration begins. In the meantime, we have a team of staff being deployed across the country, including in every state in the south, and who will talk regularly with all stakeholders.”

He said his panel will play a fundamental role on behalf of the United Nations Secretary-General to help ensure that the referenda in Southern Sudan and the Abyei Area are free and fair, and to offer recommendations when and if required.

“We are not here to run the referenda process, or be election observers, or certify the results. This is a Sudanese-owned process, and the primary responsibility for ensuring that the referenda are credible lies with the Sudanese themselves,” Mkapa said in the statement.

“The role of the international community is to provide support to them.”

The referendum, scheduled for 9 January represents the decisive milestone in the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), which ended more than two decades of war.

(ST)