The government has allocated $800,000 to the National Constitutional Review
Commission (NCRC) for the purpose of initiating civic education and conducting
public consultations.
Earlier this month, Dr. Martin Elia Lomuro, the Minister of Cabinet Affairs,
indicated that the government was in the process of making payments for the
Commission and the National Human Rights Commission.
The minister said this a week after the Public Accounts
Committee and the Finance and Economy Committees of Parliament summoned him to
answer questions and queries about $10 million meant for the implementation of
important peace agreement provisions.
This week, the chairperson of the national constitutional
review commission, Dr. Riang Yer Zuor, confirmed the receipt of some money.
“We have budgeted for $43 million, but we have received
$800,000,” said Yer.
According to the NCRC Secretary General, John Natana
Abraham, the commission is engaging the authorities to expedite the passage of
their budget.
“We are in contact with the concerned authorities in the
government, the minister of finance. The budget is yet to be tabled before the
assembly, and we hope that it is tabled as quickly as possible,” said Natana.
The NCRC was formed along with the electoral institutions in
November last year by President Salva Kiir to facilitate the permanent
constitution-making process, but since then, the commission has been waiting
for funding from the government to start its work.
With the $800,000 that they have just received, it’s now
preparing its members to launch nationwide civic education and public
consultation on constitution-making.
“Very soon we are going to launch a nationwide civic
education and public consultation. That is why we are preparing our members so
that when they are all over the country and even abroad, they will be prepared
to address the various issues which are constitutional in nature,” Natana told
The Radio Community.
According to the 2018 revitalized peace agreement, a
people-driven permanent constitution should be in place before the end of the
transitional period to guide the general elections, which is the agreement's
end point.
The upcoming elections in South Sudan, planned for December
this year, are facing a delay in the drafting of the constitution.
This has led to divergent views among the parties involved
in the agreement. Some argue that the elections should proceed regardless of
the absence of a permanent constitution, while others insist that the
constitution must be established first.
Natana suggested that the parties should initiate a
conversation to determine their future, given the delay in the commission's
efforts to create a constitution.
“We are a little bit behind schedule, but then what is going
to happen is going to be decided by the leadership of this country, the
signatories to the agreement, and I believe they are already engaged in
discussions among themselves,” Natana added.
