Yakani says technocratic gov’t ‘best’ alternative if no realistic roadmap for peace implementation

JUBA – South Sudan’s prominent activist Edmund Yakani has welcomed calls for a technocratic government in the country, but said priority should be given to development of a roadmap for implementation of the revitalized peace agreement.

Yesterday, five holdout opposition groups issued a statement rejecting further extension of the transitional period in South Sudan, saying the leadership of the revitalized agreement has failed to deliver on its promises and there was need for a technocratic government.

These calls followed a call by opposition leader Dr. Lam Akol Ajawin, the Secretary General of South Sudan Opposition Alliance (SSOA), a signatory to the revitalized peace agreement, for a meeting of opposition groups outside South Sudan to decide on the way forward.

Speaking to Sudans Post in an exclusive interview on Wednesday, Edmund Yakani, the Executive Director of Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO), there is need for genuine dialogue on the implementation of the agreement and technocratic government is a best alternative in case the parties failed to avail a roadmap for the R-ARCSS implementation.

“CEPO calls for genuine dialogue on the roadmap on finalization of the transitional period tasks under R-ARCSS. The call for technocratic government is best option if the roadmap for finalizing the transitional period pending task through extension is not availed. Blanket extension of transitional period is unaccepted act,” Yakani said.

“The proposal tabled by groups in the opposition is good option to deliver on as last solution for transitioning the situation from violence to peace,” the activist added.

He said that realization of peace in the world’s youngest country is the responsibility of the parties to implementing the revitalized peace agreement and any failure or return to conflict will be blamed on them by the people of South Sudan.

“The current political leadership of the country has big responsibility to demonstrate political will at this shortest period of time to deliver the pending tasks of the transitional period,” Yakani said.

“Nobody will be blamed for any failure on the implementation of the R-ARCSS apart of the current political leadership of the party signatories to the R-ARCSS,” the outspoken activist further said.