In his address to the meeting, RJMEC Chairperson Amb. Maj. Gen. Charles Tai Gituai gave a detailed status of implementation of the Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS).  

On elections scheduled for December this year, Amb. Gituai said, “very little clarity exists regarding the position of the RTGoNU (Revitalised Transitional Government of National Unity) and Parties over the conduct of elections as scheduled.”

“Also, critical election related tasks remain outstanding and time is fast running out,” he added. 

On the permanent constitution making process, Amb Gituai said,

“The making of ‘a people led, and people owned permanent constitution’ within the Transitional Period is one of the cardinal promises made by the Parties to the Revitalized Peace Agreement to the people of South Sudan and this constitutional moment should not be lost.”

In his address, Amb. Gituai made the following recommendations to the R-TGoNU:

1. continue sustained inter-party dialogue in a collegial manner, build consensus amongst the Parties and the stakeholders on the way forward on elections, and provide regular updates to the public on the progress of the dialogue;
2. continue to avail the requisite resources and logistics to the Agreement institutions and mechanisms to enable them to discharge their mandates;
3. fast-track the passing of all pending bills and operationalise those already enacted by the TNLA; and
4. complete the unification of the mid-level command echelon, redeployment of the unified forces, and commence Phase II, and DDR (Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration.

In his conclusions, the Chairperson said:

 “I would like to underscore the importance of continuous implementation of the R-ARCSS tasks, irrespective of the ongoing inter-party dialogue and the Nairobi talks. Much work remains to be done and no time should be lost going forward.