South Sudan finance minister stops accommodating former detainees

March 24, 2016 (JUBA) – South Sudan’s minister of finance and economic planning has stopped hotel accommodation for a group of rival senior officials of the ruling SPLM party, known as former detainees (FDs), citing lack of money to continue to accommodate them.

In a letter dated 19 March 2016, served to the FDs led by former cabinet minister, Deng Alor Kuol, minister of finance, David Deng Athorbei, explained that the government received former detainees in November 2015 and provided them with accommodation as a first step towards implementation of the peace agreement.

Athorbei however explained that the accommodation of the FDs in Crown Hotel, one of the most expensive hotels in Juba where charges range between $300 to $500 US dollars per night, was done with the hope that the implementation of the peace agreement signed in August 2015 would soon result to formation of new government.

“This expense of hotel accommodation was done with hope that the implementation of peace agreement will be effective in the shortest possible time,” the letter reads in part.

“Over three months have passed and we are seeing no concrete steps taken for implementation for peace agreement. In the light of the above quoted reality, the government has no funds to continue paying accommodation in hotel indefinitely,” said the finance minister.

The letter said the accommodation of the former detainees has come to stop as from Thursday, 24 March 2016.

The former detainees are a group of leaders of the SPLM party who were detained when violent conflict erupted on 15 December 2013, but were subsequently released and formed a separate bloc in the peace talks between President Salva Kiir and his former deputy, Riek Machar.

About 10 of them returned to Juba with the exception of their leader, Pagan Amum who was a former secretary general of the SPLM and currently lives in the United States.

(ST)