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Ramaphosa holds talks with key South Sudanese actors in latest drive

South Sudan President welcomes his South African counterpart Cyril Ramaphosa in Juba on April 16, 2024. (Photo: X/PresidencyZA)

By Mwangi Maina | 18 Apr 2024

Ramaphosa met with key South Sudanese actors, including President Salva Kiir, and his first deputy Riek Machar, to receive updates on the peace agreements implementation.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has spent the better part of this week in the Eastern Africa region, focusing on advancing the implementation of the revitalised peace agreement in South Sudan ahead of the December polls in the youngest country in the world.

On Wednesday, Ramaphosa met with key South Sudanese actors, including President Salva Kiir, and his first deputy Riek Machar, to receive updates on the peace agreements implementation.

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South African, serving as the Chair of the African Union High-Level Ad-hoc Committee for South Sudan (C5), has been tasked by the continental body with supporting South Sudan in its transitional process.

Ramaphosa also met with Hussein Adelbagi, vice president of South Sudan and leader of the South Sudan Opposition Alliance (SSOA).

South Sudan Opposition Alliance has already declared its readiness for the general elections.

They argue that South Sudanese people are tired of transitions and eagerly want to exercise their right to choose their leaders.

South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa with Dr Riek Machar Teny, First Vice President of the Republic of South Sudan in Juba on April 7, 2024. (Photo X/PresidencyZA)

South Africa has actively engaged in conflict resolution, mediation, and post-conflict reconstruction efforts in South Sudan.

However, the primary political adversaries in Juba are expected to once again delay the general election, which was rescheduled for the end of the year.

Institutional reforms delays

Reasons cited for the potential postponement include delays in institutional reforms, ongoing insecurity, and economic crisis.

This impending election poses a make-or-break moment, with the world watching the East African Community nation, aware that the outcome of the polls will shape South Sudan's future trajectory.

One of the individuals President Ramaphosa met on Wednesday is Major General Charles Gituai, a Kenyan national serving as the interim Chair of the Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (RJMEC), an Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) mechanism in Eastern Africa.

In late February, RJMEC briefed the 1202nd meeting of the African Union Peace and Security Council, observing that the youngest country in the world is falling behind schedule in meeting its timelines ahead of the December polls.

🇿🇦 His Excellency President @CyrilRamaphosa having a bilateral meeting with Dr Riek Machar Teny, First Vice President of the Republic of South Sudan before the two leaders join an extended meeting with members of the Official Delegation.

President Ramaphosa is in the Republic of… pic.twitter.com/BAXbfzgLb8
— The Presidency 🇿🇦 (@PresidencyZA) April 17, 2024

Gituai expressed concern over the substantial amount of work still needed so as to fulfil the Agreement's requirements necessary for conducting free, fair and credible elections.

He observed that pending tasks include securing funding and operationalising polls-related institutions responsible for the preparation and conduct of elections, as well as drafting a permanent constitution.

The Eastleigh Voice understands that Gituai reiterated the same concerns to President Ramaphosa during their meeting in Juba.

After gaining independence in 2011 from Sudan, the world's youngest country was engulfed in civil war from 2013 when President Salva Kiir ousted his deputy, Riek Machar.

The war ended with the signing of a peace agreement in 2018 that brought the two rivals together.

The agreement- including clear deadlines for enactment of laws, enacting the constitution and putting in place relevant institutions- was due to lapse in 2022 with the holding of general elections that would usher in a democratically elected government.

Kiir's Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) maintains that elections will be held as scheduled in December and that they are ready to contest.