South Sudan president orders the reopening of the leading think tank.

South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir has authorized the reopening of the Sudd Institute, the country’s main think tank, almost three months after it was forcibly closed down by the National Security Services (NSS).

The institution was closed when the Peoples’ Coalition for Civil Action (PCCA), a coalition of South Sudanese civil society organizations, launched a public campaign seeking political reforms in the nation ten years after its independence.

In a public statement, the pressure organization said that South Sudan has lost its moral, political, economic, and cultural bearing, as well as its communal sense of purpose.

The decision to reopen the think tank was revealed in a letter sent to the head of the institute’s board of directors, Pauline Riak, on November 19, 2021.

“I write to notify you today of His Excellency President Salva Kiir Mayardit’s decision to enable the Sudd Institute to start operations.” “His Excellency President Salva Kiir Mayardit’s decision has been notified to appropriate authorities,” Presidential Affairs Minister Barnaba Marial Benjamin tweeted.

Augustino Ting Mayai, the institution’s interim managing director, praised the president’s decision to establish the institute, citing its advantages to the country.

He said that the Sudd Institute will reopen on November 22, 2021.

Former South Sudanese Higher Education Minister John Gai Yoh praised the president’s move to revive the country’s biggest think tank.

He complimented the institute’s board chairwoman and all those who worked behind the scenes to achieve the institute’s re-opening.

The Sudd Institute, founded in 2012, is one of the research institutes in South Sudan that conducts research and participates in academic activities. It promotes itself as an independent research organization that conducts and organizes research and training in order to inform public policy and practice, to foster discussion and debate, and to build analytical ability in South Sudan.