Specialised committees to be formed before 2022
The chairperson designate of the information committee of the Revitalised Transitional National Legislative Assembly, Paul Yoane Bonju, has revealed that the specialised committees of Parliament will be formed within three weeks before January 2022.
Yoane told the media on Wednesday that as soon as the committees are formed, Parliament will start to review the laws that have been passed by the Council of Ministers.
He said their priorities are the national security laws, the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF), the national prison service—which is going to be correctional service law—and wildlife, among others, which will follow.
“So it is a matter of us having the committees and everything will go as normal,” he said.
“We have waited for months and years. What is 21 or 29 days? Although it looks discouraging, let me say, within three weeks, we will have everything in place, “he said.
Bonju said the weeklong governor’s forum, which was held at the Freedom Hall where the parliament is currently conducting its business, had interrupted their activities.
“Had it not been for the governor’s forum, we should have actually started with the constitutional amendment bills numbers 8 and 9, which is one of the prerequisites of the agreement, ” said Bonju.
In his address to Parliament in August, President Salva Kiir said the function of the parliament was essential to fully implementing the peace agreement, adding that the reconstitution of the parliament was a relief to the people of South Sudan and the partners who were tasked with monitoring the implementation of the agreement due to the delay in the process.
“Since February 2020, your counterparts in the executive branch have been working. Most of the files they have worked on require your review and approval before they can move forward, “Kiir told the MPs.
More work awaits
One of the files passed by the cabinet, which he told the MPs to put on top of their agenda, was the national budget, which has been debated and approved and awaits the discussion and final approval of the MPs.
“I urged you to take this up as a matter of urgency because the country cannot any longer afford to operate without an approved budget,” he stressed.
He had also urged the parliament to prioritise the national constitutional amendment bills, which include the Petroleum Act, security and institutional reform laws that are critical to the implementation of the revitalised peace agreement.
In addition, First Vice President Dr Riek Machar also called on the parliament to speed up the formation of the specialised committees in order to legislate on the laws that have been passed by the cabinet.
Machar emphasised that the constitutional amendment bills numbers 8 and 9 are crucial to incorporating the peace agreement into the transitional constitution that will guide the government and help the parliament refer to or quote it as one document when conducting their business.
He, however, said the approval of security bills is equally important for the graduation of the unified forces that will provide policy for the organ forces to follow as they protect the citizens and the territorial integrity of the country.
He also emphasized that South Sudan will be unable to hold credible, fair, and transparent elections in 2023 unless the security arrangement is completed.
He called on the parliament to expedite the process of passing bills, including the security bills, once they are presented to them by the minister of justice and constitutional affairs and other line ministries.
“Some of the prerequisites for elections are: the security arrangement completed, the refugees come back, the displaced go back to their places, you have to conduct a census as a requirement of the agreement, and you must have a permanent constitution,” Machar emphasised.
