South Sudan parties agree to delay transitional government for 100 days
November 7, 2019 (KAMPALA) – South Sudan President Salva Kiir and his main rival SPLM-IO leader Riek Machar have agreed to extend the transitional period for one hundred days.
The agreement was reached during a tripartite summit held in Entebbe attended by Presidents Yoweri Museveni, Salva Kiir and Sudan’s head of the Transitional Sovereign Council. Also, took part at the meeting Riek Machar and Kenya’s special envoy to South Sudan Kalonzo Musyoka.
“The meeting noted the incomplete critical tasks related to the security arrangement and governance, including the formation of a revitalized transitional government of national unity,” said a statement issued by the Ugandan presidency seen by Sudan Tribune.
“In view of the above, the meeting agreed to extend the pre-transitional period for one hundred 100 days effective from the 12th November 2019 and to review progress after fifty (50) days from that day and a report be submitted to the heads of states and the parties,” the statement further stressed.
Machar had rejected to join the transitional government pointing to the failure to finalize the formation of the unified army or the fix the number of state and its boundaries, the two key issues of discord.
The parties further agreed to establish a mechanism from the guarantors and the parties to supervise the implementation of the critical tasks.
The meeting also agreed to request IGAD to address the status of Dr Riek Machar.
In a decision reached in September 2018 after the signing of the revitalized peace agreement, IGAD Council of Ministers confided Machar’s residence in Khartoum instead of Pretoria.
(ST)