The government has acknowledged that critical tasks in the peace agreement including unification of forces, and permanent constitutions must be complete before the country goes for general election.
Minister of Cabinet Affairs Dr. Martin Elia Lomoro says deploying unified forces, writing the permanent constitution and election bills are crucial for South Sudan.
Last week, the African Union Peace and Security delegation visited South Sudan to evaluate the status of implementation of the revitalized peace agreement.
The team met the parties to the agreement, civil society, and development partners to understand the peace process.
Dr. Lomoro says the government has told AU to support the parties financially to ensure the necessary provision of the agreement is complete on time.
“I gave them complete details on the status of the peace agreement and highlighted why the is moving slowly, the challenges so that they have comprehension on what AU will be able to do to help elevate some of those challenges,” he said.
Lomoro promised that the necessary unified forces are likely to graduate in March despite the failure of the parties to strike a deal on the command structure.
“The Joint defense Border has directed the technical committee to prepare the graduate schedule, and I am very confident the graduation will take place probably next month,” he said.
Kenya Ambassador Jean Kamau, who headed the AU delegation, says the government of South Sudan is fully seized with the responsibility to implement the agreement.
Kamau says her team heard from the parties on their commitment to implement the core areas in the agreement, which are critical for the successful transition of South Sudan.
“We are happy with these messages, which give us hope and also reconfirm to the peace and security council that South Sudan is fully on track to meet the obligation under the revitalized peace agreement.”
The AU and regional mechanisms reiterated support to ensuring that South Sudan gets the necessary assistance.
The African Union team concluded their mission and left the country on Friday last week.