Wau Dialogue W. Bahr el-Ghazal state 13-15 May 2013

South Sudan Law Society

Citizen of Western Bhar el-Ghazal State calls for limitations of President Powers and the Independence of Executive, Legislature and Judiciary and transparency in the making process of the permanent Constitution of South Sudan

South Sudan Law society in partnership with Justice Africa and the Civil Society Resource Team on the Constitution with the support from Danish Government are conducting a three day dialogue on the constitution and the constitution review process in Western B State. The dialogue brought together participants from all three counties in the State and each County has come with at least 18 members from different categories. The dialogue commenced on Monday 13th and will come to an end on 15th of May 2013 at the University of Bahr el Ghazal in Wau.

The Wau Dialogue is part of the on-going CSO constitution process whose main objectives are;

• To enhance the participation of the citizens of South Sudan in the constitution making process
• To promote civic education and the sharing of information on the constitution
• To enable a coordinated effort of lobbying and advocacy for a people driven constitution
• To prepare citizen’s at state level for the National Constitution Review

Commission’s consultations

The project is premised on the conviction that the process of constitution making is equally as important as the final substance and it is therefore necessary that the people are included in this process. The dialogues are facilitated by members of the Civil Society Resource Team on the Constitution.

The attendance of the Wau dialogue was 150 participants, drawn from the following categories of society;

• Community leaders especially Paramount Chiefs
• Parliamentarians
• Religious Leaders
• Women groups
• Youth
• Local authorities
• Academics,
• NGOs and CBOs
• Police
• Prisoners
• And political parties

Methodology and facilitation

• The principles of good governance and democracy was outlined and an overview of the content of the Transitional Constitution given.
• Participants were given an opportunity to put forth what they believe should be incorporated in the Transitional Constitution.
• The views of the participants will be recorded and will be subsequently submitted to the National Constitution Review Commission for possible inclusion in the permanent constitution.
• The facilitators have been trained to role playing, small group problem solving, simulations etc. Lecture-based civic education was minimal.
• The programme acknowledges the fact that participatory methods are more effective in informal learning processes

Main Discussion Issues were;

• An outline and analysis of the key features of the transitional constitution
• The Constitution as a Power Map – with analysis of the power dynamics and power balance between three arms of the government.
• The set-up , role and responsibility of the local government, councils and state governments with a keen analyses of federal and Unitary Political structures
• Parliamentary and Presidential political systems
• Human rights and citizens obligations with an emphasis on the rights of minority groups such as women, youth and people with disabilities
• Limitation of powers , Checks and balances and Resource Management among others