Sudan govt, SPLA to implement wealth-sharing accord in January

NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov 9, 2004 (PANA) — Sudan intends to implement the wealth-sharing accord reached with the southern Sudan Sudan People’s Liberation Army/Movement early next year irrespective of whether they would have signed the final peace accord to end the 21-year old armed conflict, the visiting humanitarian affairs minister Ibrahim Mahmoud said here Tuesday.

Kenya’s president Mwai Kibaki (C) watches Sudan vice-president Ali Osman Taha (L) and leader of Sudan People Liberation Army John Garang shake hands after they signed the Nairobi Declaration on the Final Phase on Peace in Sudan at State house Nairobi. June 5, 2004 (AFP).

“The time has come to distribute wealth to all states of the
Sudan based on the power sharing agreement reached in Naivasha, Kenya where north-south peace talks took place,” the Sudanese minister told journalists in Nairobi.

Mahmoud was optimistic that the final peace deal between
Khartoum government and the(SPLA/M) being negotiated under
the auspices of the Inter Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) will be signed before the end of the year.

“Wealth sharing would begin in January 2005 whether a deal
has been signed or not. This has been made clear by our President (Omar al Bashir) according to the wealth sharing agreement reached in Naivasha.

“The Sudan Plan for 2005 was made between the United Nations,
SPLA/M and Sudan government,” Mahmood told a news conference in the Kenyan capital.

“The reason for this plan is that we are expecting peace and so all things will be different from the previous plans and most of the projects and programs would be directed to this plan which is focusing on returnees, resettlement and rehabilitation of areas of return. We are talking about landmines clearance, demobilisation and rehabilitation of ex-combatants,” he added.

His statement came as United States said it intends to peg the release of humanitarian aid to Sudan and its southern opposition, SPLA/M on the peace progress. The US reportedly intends to declare this pre-condition when the UN Security Council meets in Nairobi next week.

Washington D.C. insists that aid offers may be withdrawn if
Khartoum and the rebel group fail to sign and accord soon to end Africa’s longest-running civil war.

Under the wealth sharing protocol they signed, the two
belligerents agreed that oil revenue from southern Sudan would be
divided 50-50 between north and south.

It is not clear how this wealth sharing would work without a
final peace deal is unclear, but Mahmoud was confident the final
deal would be reached before beginning of 2005.

The Sudanese minister said the next year’s plan would also cover
separate conflict in Darfur region of Western Sudan and several
parts experiencing hardships.

“This plan will also cover Darfur region, eastern Sudan and the
areas which have been affected by drought this year,” he said.

The minister said the overall security situation in the Sudan has
improved tremendously, noting that thousands of refugees were
returning to the war-torn southern Sudan and Darfur.

“The conflict areas are improving very much due to cease-fire we
have signed with the rebels both in the south and Darfur region
where enough resources has been provided by international
humanitarian agencies,” the visiting minister noted.

He expressed concern that the Darfur crisis in the country’s west
is overshadowing the problems in Southern Sudan, adding that the
cease-fire in the country’s South had led thousands of displaced
people to leave their refugee camps and return to their
villages.

Khartoum and the SPLM have signed six protocols that are awaiting
implementation. These include agreements on governmental power
sharing, the country’s oil wealth as well as integrated security
forces in southern Sudan, the Nuba Mountains, the Southern Blue
Nile and the status of Khartoum, the capital city.

In six years, southerners would vote in a referendum to determine
whether they wanted to form an independent state. the UN Security
Council will hold a rare formal session in Nairobi from 18-19
November to exert pressure on the parties to sign a final
agreement in the south by the end of the year.

The council will also press Khartoum and two rebel groups in
Darfur to solve the 20-month crisis that has killed over 70,000
people in western Sudan.