South Sudan’s Kiir renews call for national dialogue with Opposition

South Sudan President Salva Kiir at a function recently. Photo by Peter Mwayi

What you need to know:

  • Mr Kiir stressed the national dialogue process was not a delaying tactic for his government to consolidate a grip on power.
  • The South Sudanese leader directed the national parliament to approve a supplementary budget for the upcoming dialogue in March.

South Sudan president Salva Kiir has urged armed political groups fighting his government to join the national dialogue.
In a state-of-the nation address to parliament on Tuesday, President Kiir said he was convinced that the inclusive political dialogue would consolidate peace in the country.
The leader of the youngest nation since its independence in 2011, announced the national dialogue for peace in December 2016, to put an end to more than three years of civil war.

“The national dialogue is a key priority for this government and an important national undertaking designed to unite the people of South Sudan and consolidate peace and improve security, I therefore call upon our partners and those in opposition to cast any doubts aside as we genuinely seek to restore peace,” president Kiir told Parliament on Tuesday.
President Kiir’s speech appears as an attempt to try to retake control of a government suffering not only from resignations of senior politicians but also from defections of commanding generals in the army.

Four high-profile officials, including the army's deputy chief of staff, have resigned this month alone, accusing Mr Kiir of ethnic bias and corruption.
Mr Kiir stressed the national dialogue process was not a delaying tactic for his government to consolidate a grip on power.
"I want to make it absolutely clear to those who question and doubt our intentions, and to our regional and international partners that the national dialogue initiative we have rolled out is not a trick," said Mr Kiir.
The South Sudanese leader directed the national parliament to approve a supplementary budget for the upcoming dialogue in March. He also urged the national parliament to mobilise the people of South Sudan at the grassroots level to join the dialogue process.

At the same function , president Kiir also said his country was prepared for improved relations with the new US government. He took a swing at the Barrack Obama administration, which he accused of supporting the armed opposition group led by exiled former vice president Riek Machar. “It is no secret we had a strong feeling that the previous U.S. administration might have sought a regime change agenda in South Sudan and largely complicated the peace process with threats of sanctions," said Kiir.
US president Donald Trump’s administration on Monday announced plans to dispatch a three-member delegation to Juba tomorrow to assess ways to end the war in South Sudan.