Lomuro says South Sudan Gov’t can fund the peace agreement without the Troika, EU money.

The Minister of Cabinet Affairs, Dr Martin Elia Lomuro, and his colleague from the defence and veteran affairs, Angelina Teny, disputed regarding the relevance of the Troika and EU member states to the peace pact.

According to Dr Lomuro, South Sudan government is financially competent of stepping in to cover the finding gap if the two major boys chose against assisting the ceasefire monitoring agencies, like US had declared.

Lomuro stated the public should worry about the loss of assistance by the Troika and the EU to the security mechanism authorities that supervise the peace implementation.

The cabinet affairs minister said the government would not be discouraged in its attempt to prolong the term as indicated in the plan owing to the ill-will from certain parties.

“We have money. Yes, we have money for these agreements,” Dr Lomuro added.

He made the statements on a chat program broadcast by Radio Miraya on Saturday.
Lomuro assured the residents of the government’s resolve to conducting an election at the conclusion of the protracted transitional phase.

“And we do not require all the funds for execution of the agreement to be delivered to the committee. What we are asking is give us what we can do in each month and go ahead to the next one in the other month.”

According to Lomuro, in the preceding fiscal year budget, each institution or ministry was expected to integrate the agreement’s conditions in its strategic plans and budget.

However, he stated the strategy did not work and now they came up with a fresh solution this time.

He stated the government has formed a higher-level standing committee with the role of reviewing, analyzing, and enforcing the implementation.

“That means we have permission to call on the ministers, the heads of institutions that are dealing with the different articles and provisions of the road plan and say, my friend, you have only a number of these months, weeks, or days. Give us the true funding for the execution of certain tasks,” he stated.

He maintained that the government’s choice to approve the peace plan was sovereign and did not require the partners’ involvement.

“We are capable of taking choices concerning the future of our nation and our people just as they do in their own countries. They do not need to be informed. We have not notified them and we will not notify them. Their sole task is to view the final document and precisely what they have seen now,” he added.

“These folks are not South Sudanese. They have not signed the deal. When they take choices in their country, they never consult with us. Let me be clear about this. It is a sovereign decision.”

He said South Sudan has diplomatic connections with the same groups but it does not imply that they should meddle with the country’s internal issues.

“We want an honest connection, not a relationship that says if you do not speak to me or if I do not approve of what you are doing, I do not need it, and that itself is condescending.”

Nontheless, the Minister of Defence and Veteran Affairs, Angelina Teny, who was on the same talk program disputed with Lomuro’s comments stating if the partners quit paying the security systems even the monitoring compliance and report on breaches would not proceed.

“Let’s take the example, RJEMC reports breaches and also help in attempting to overcome some of the challenges that parties find in the interpretations of the terms of the agreement. They report to IGAD, the AU, the Security Council, and parties and report to the government of R-TGoNU. They need to keep their independence,” she added.

Such arrangements, according to her, are finances that the nation may not be able to offer. She said it would be ludicrous for it to support RJEMC since they would be supervising the same administration.

“So, it is important for our foreign partners to encourage them so that they offer trustworthy information as per what is occurring in the execution of the agreement.”

Teny noted that the partners had done a lot, including helping South Sudan to attain its independence. Sge reaffirmed her demand to the Troika to boost their aid to continue moving ahead.

Last week, the EU and Troika—which includes the United States, Norway, and the United Kingdom—issued a joint statement acknowledging the recent decision to extend the duration of the transitional administration, but advised the government to utilize the finances at its disposal to fund the deal.