![FVP Dr. Riek Machar Teny (left) and President Salva Kiir Mayardit during the closing session of the 6th Governors Forum in Juba. [Photo by presidency]](https://i0.wp.com/www.sudanspost.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/317491548_1197931140834943_6456158728297588095_n.jpg?resize=2048%2C1226&ssl=1)
The event will bring together governors from the country’s 10 states and chief administrators from the three administrative areas.
Michael Majok Agar, Director-General of Decentralization and Intergovernmental Relations in the Ministry of Presidential Affairs and head of the forum’s preparations, emphasized its purpose of fostering dialogue and collaboration.
“The forum is also meant to facilitate effective dialogue and coordination between states and international development partners for increased partnerships and collaboration in the delivery of development project and services to the people of South Sudan,” he said in a statement.
President Salva Kiir Mayardit is expected to officiate the forum, which will be held under the theme: “Forging Sustainable Peace: Committed in the Extended R-ARCSS Transition.”
As the forum begins, civil society organizations have expressed concerns about the lack of follow-through on resolutions from past forums.
The Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO) highlighted that none of the 28 recommendations on intergovernmental relations from previous forums had been implemented.
While some progress has been made regarding electoral recommendations, CEPO noted that only one of the 12 recommendations on elections has been implemented, with efforts underway to address others.
“Out of 12 recommendations on elections, one recommendation was implemented and efforts for implementation of others is in process,” CEPO said in a statement.
CEPO also criticized violations of recommendations concerning freedom of expression and media space, particularly by the SPLM and SPLM-IO in Jonglei State.
Edmund Yakani, CEPO’s Executive Director, called for better accountability in the use of funds allocated to the forum.
“This is absolutely unacceptable for the exercise of spending funds without concrete results. It is wasting taxpayers’ money minus proper and tangible returns,” he said.
Yakani urged for a system to track expenditures and the implementation of forum resolutions.
Ter Manyang, leader of the Center for Peace and Advocacy (CPA), appealed to the presidency to evaluate the outcomes of previous forums.
“We urge the President and the 1st Vice President to follow up on the resolution from the 6th and 7th Governor’s Forum in collaboration with Civil Society Organizations engaged in advocacy in the country,” Manyang said.
The Governors’ Forum was first convened in 2006 with support from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
It was suspended following the outbreak of civil war in December 2013 and resumed in recent years.
