S. Sudan dialogue body says lacks fund for exiled opposition

June 20, 2017 (JUBA) – South Sudan’s steering committee for the national dialogue says lack of funds hindering its efforts to consult exiled rebel leader, Riek Machar and opposition politicians abroad.

“A committee has being formed to consult with the leader of the SPLM-IO [Riek Machar] and all [South Sudanese in the] diaspora but as you know, the government has no money and members of the international community are yet to offer their support,” said Alfred Taban, a member on the information committee.

“This is serious because without money, we cannot travel outside the country to meet refugees, politicians living in exile. This is a very important step in the national dialogue,” he added, shortly after a meeting of the committee chaired by Angelo Beda on Tuesday.

President Salva Kiir launched the national dialogue committee last month as parts of efforts he said will restore confidence among the local communities divided by the war. The bottom-top approach is meant to address local issues as well as national political differences that morphed into the war along tribal lines three years ago.

The armed opposition faction loyal to ex-First Vice President Machar has dismissed the dialogue as a strategy to prolong President Kiir’s legitimacy after the 2015 peace agreement collapsed last year.

International donors are also reluctant to fund the process after President Kiir said his main rival Machar should not participate in the process because “he will come and cause another trouble in Juba.”

However, the national dialogue steering committee has insisted that all sides in the war must participate irrespective of President Kiir’s refusal to dialogue with his arch rival. But without fund, amid the economic crisis in South Sudan, the process is likely to further delay.

(ST)