Activists alarmed as S. Sudan MPs fail to sit for three weeks
April 7, 2016 (JUBA) – South Sudan parliament said it failed to conduct business for three weeks due to circumstances beyond its control, raising concerns from activists.
“We will resume our sittings soon and parliament will run it business as usual,” said Rundial.
“We did not sit for the last [three] weeks due to circumstances beyond our control but those issues are being addressed,” he added, but without further details.
The national assembly has not held a sitting since mid March, according to civil society monitoring group, Community Empowerment for Progress Organisation (CEPO).
CEPO’s executive director, Edmond Yakani said Wednesday that the assembly should explain why it is restricting lawmakers from carrying out their constitutional mandates.
“What we want, as citizens, is a clear explanation why the parliament is not sitting,” he said.
Yakani, a renowned activist, said Parliament should not be badly affected by the hard economic situation, which at times results into lack of fuel to run its generators.
The information chairman in the assembly, Oliver Benjamin, said the generator functions normally.
“Even human being fall sick. So when our generator is due due to mechanical problem, it shouldn’t be taken as lack of fuel,” Oliver earlier told reporters in the capital, Juba.
South Sudan is facing acute fuel shortage and weakening local currency against the US dollars has helped surge prices of scarce commodities in the market. There has been not fuel in Juba for the last three weeks, the same length of time parliament has failed to sit.
The current parliament will be expanded to 400 from the 325 MPs in accordance with the peace agreement signed with the country’s armed opposition faction (SPLM-IO). It is also expected that a speaker be elected from South Sudan’s geater Equatoria region.
The current speaker hails from Upper Nile region. The choice of the new speaker to lead during 30 months of a transitional period is to complete balance of power in the country.
(ST)