JUBA President Salva Kiir Mayardit officiated the closing session of the Sixth Governor’s Forum which brought together government leaders from the ten States and three Administrative Areas to deliberate on critical national issues ranging from peace, security, development and humanitarian challenges.
In his keynote address, President Kiir directed the State Governors to prioritize addressing sub-national conflicts including communal violence and land disputes in their respective States.
“I am calling upon the Governors and the Chief Administrators with support of the national organs to come up with ways to call off this unending communal violence, for example, what is happening between the communities of Twic and Ngok Dinka of Abyei areas” President Kiir reiterated.
In his effort to help States grappling with flood, President Kiir directed Ministry of Finance and Planning to allocate 10 million US dollars to flood affected areas while appealing to development partners to join government efforts in rescuing vulnerable communities affected by floods.
In his closing remarks at the Forum, President Kiir calls on the UN to lift arm embargo on South Sudan, warning that the unjustified arm embargo only renders South Sudan vulnerable to external threat and aggression.
“We intensify our call for lifting unjustified arms embargo. Let us not allow internal grievances to mislead us from defending our country. In the interest of stopping this deliberate attempt, Today I am joining all of you in calling UN to lift arm embargo on us. To those supporting arms embargo, please do not think our country is not under external threat,” Kiir stated.
In regard to Rome peace talks, President Kiir said he has invited the community of Saint Edigio which is mediating between the Government and Hold-out Group to come to Juba for further consultation with government.
“Road ambushes have never stopped from the hold out group and for this reason, we have suspended Rome peace talk until this group show commitment. To demonstrate that we have not closed doors for the talks with this group, we have invited the community of Saint Egidio to come to Juba so that we share our grievances” President Kiir concluded.
The Governor’s Forum is an annual conference which brings together all levels of government to discuss issues of national importance and draw resolutions aims at addressing challenges facing peace and development in South Sudan.
C: Office of the President
