SPLM postpones its extraordinary convention to March
February 14, 2013 (JUBA) – The ruling political party in South Sudan has rescheduled its planned extraordinary convention March 15 in order to pass its basic documents, said Pagan Amum, the secretary-general of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM).
The review of the documents is necessitated by the new reality that the party operates in an independent state which its vision, policy and programs should conform to before it is registered afresh as required by law.
However, on Thursday during a visit to the party’s general headquarters by vice-president and SPLM deputy-chairperson Riek Machar Teny, Amum briefed the latter about the new timetable towards the convention.
Amum said 17 February is the dateline by which the ad-hoc committees will finish with ongoing preparations of the documents before presenting them to the party’s highest executive organ, the Political Bureau, on 26 February for deliberations.
He said the SPLM’s National Liberation Council will sit on 11 March to deliberate on the documents before the extraordinary convention passes the documents during its deliberations from 15-18 March.
During his visit to the party headquarters, Machar briefed senior staff, including all department head secretaries, on the upcoming national reconciliation campaign, economy situation and insecurity in the country.
The SPLM deputy chairperson urged the national secretariat and party leaders in general to play a leading role in resolving the ongoing challenges facing the country, warning people not to behave like ostriches by burying their heads in sand and ignoring the danger around.
Machar encouraged party leaders to express constructive ideas freely when discussing important national and party issues, saying “the fear to express yourself can also impede your good thinking”.
He further urged for active participation in the internal transformation of the party in order to restore and refine its direction and vision.
(ST)