By The President of South Africa H.E Cyril Ramaphosa and his envoy visited Juba in South Sudan for a three days working visit, where South Africa affirmed its historical and fraternal bonds of friendship and solidarity to the President of the country H.E. Salva Kiir Mayardit.
South Sudan is one of the countries ranked as one of the poorest in the globe suffering from serious humanitarian crisis due to the prolonged civil war that saw millions of Sudanese displaced in 2013. The country, which was colonised by Egypt and Britain, gained independence in 2011 backed the United States. However, not before long, conflict erupted; the country was faced with high levels of political corruption and a lapsed economy.
In August 2015, a peace agreement was signed by Kiir and Riek MACHAR whose loyal supporters were at war. However, in July 2016, the country plunged into conflict once more; the peace agreement was signed again in September 2018. In 2020 the agreement collapsed again as the political leaders fought for power, as a result, the country plunged into dire humanitarian crisis with about 7 million people out of the total population of 11 million in need of humanitarian assistance.
The parties involved agreed to extend the agreement from 2022 to 2024.
Ramaphosa, flanked by the Minister of the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) Dr Naledi Pandor, who delivered the speech on behalf of President Ramaphosa said they are visiting South Sudan to reaffirm their historic and fraternal bonds of friendship and solidarity between their peoples which were forged during their common struggle for independence and freedom.
“It has been five years since this peace agreement was signed. We are encouraged by the progress achieved thus far. The ceasefire agreement is holding and threats to the country’s peace and stability have been reduced. We believe that with the ongoing work in the establishment of the unified security forces for the country, the security situation will further improve.
I sincerely thank President Salva Kiir, First Vice President Riek Machar, and other signatories to the Revitalised Agreement for their frank and comprehensive briefing on the implementation of the Revitalised Agreement. We are encouraged that the parties remain committed to the Revitalised Agreement as the most viable vehicle to address the root causes of the conflict and building sustainable peace in South Sudan,” said Pandor.
The country will be going to elections this year, to this; Dr Naledi Pandor said the people of South Sudan a looking forward to bring an end to the current transitional period and hopes that parties are engaging each other to ensure a just transition in good conditions during the general elections of the country.
“Lasting peace, stability and development will depend on how the collective leadership navigate the challenging times ahead. The Revitalised Agreement is a very comprehensive commitment on how to take the country forward and the Parties to it must be applauded. Progress in the implementation of the provisions of the R-ARCSS is laudable. However, more work is still outstanding,” she said.
“South Africa is deeply concerned about the ongoing conflict and humanitarian catastrophe in Sudan, which is also affecting other countries in the region, including South Sudan. We support the role of IGAD and AU in the resolution of the conflict in Sudan and we would like to see their efforts intensified in this regard,” she continued.
