CEPO’s Yakani urges release of peace funds as first cabinet meeting of the year concludes with optimism

JUBA, JANUARY 8TH 2023 (SUDANS POST) – South Sudan activist Edmund Yakani on Sunday welcomed the first cabinet meeting of the year and renewed his calls for the government to release the necessary funds for the implementation of the 2018 revitalized peace agreement in order for the government to meet the deadlines.

“The Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO) welcomes the response of the first cabinet meeting dated 6th Jan. 2023 on some of our advocacy concerns. It is essential in the month of January 2023 some concrete decisions should be undertaken for speedy implementation of the roadmap and prevention of deadly communal violence,” Yakani who is the executive director of CEPO said in the statement extended to Sudans Post.

The prominent activist said in the statement that change in political attitudes of the country’s political leaders is needed for successful transition which he said will provide the parties with tools to embrace good working relations and called for urgent release of funds for peace implementation.

“Change of political attitudes from the leadership of the country is highly required for proper and genuine political commitment for successful political transitional process. Among urgent required political commitment is the timely release of the national budget funds allocated for peace agreement implementation,” he said.

“Political will for financing other priorities that were not priorities of peace realization is higher than the political will for financing peace priorities. Actually, not releasing funds for peace priorities is an act of undermining and dragging efforts for timely realization of successful political transitional process,” the activist added.

The cabinet on Friday met for their first gathering since start of the year last week and the meeting ended with directives for government ministers to complete their ministerial tasks provided for in the revitalized peace agreement before end of the extended transitional period at which a general elections is expected to take place.

“The Minister of Cabinet Affairs on the implementation of the roadmap, he appealed to the ministers and requested them that each ministry should find out in the roadmap where its role is and start implementing that responsibility,” he said.

The important cabinet gathering also came out with the approval a national policy on occupational safety and health, a first-ever policy that seeks to protect a worker’s right to a safe working environment in the country.

Information minister and government spokesman Michael Makuei Lueth said that the new national policy on occupational safety approved by the cabinet during the same meeting will regulate the environment and safety of employees at their workplaces in various sectors of the state.

“If you are working, your workplace must be a conducive atmosphere, a healthy atmosphere to work that area should be clean, should not be polluted and also there are other diseases which are contracted in the course of employment in some ministries and institutions,” he said.

“All these are provided for in safety in the place of work. For example, the ministry of roads should have a conducive environment for officials or for the employees of the sector who are working there. They ought to be healthy because a healthy mind is in a healthy body, and if you are healthy, you will be able to produce more,” he added.