South Sudan MPs sworn in
6 min read(AFP) – 4 hours ago
JUBA — Newly independent South Sudan swore in its MPs on Saturday, two days ahead of parliament’s opening session, with the speaker calling for cooperation regardless of background or political affiliation.
“You are the founders of the first ever parliament of the Republic of South Sudan,” James Wani Igga told the National Legislative Assembly.
“I am calling for cooperation among ourselves in this esteemed house… regardless of any background,” he said, describing the presence of the different political parties as an “asset”.
According to a presidential decree issued on Monday, the parliament consists of the 170 elected members from before independence, 96 former MPs elected to the National Assembly in Khartoum from southern constituencies, and another 66 newly appointed members.
Out of South Sudan’s 332 elected and appointed members, 279 MPs were sworn in on Saturday, including Vice President Riek Machar.
President Salva Kiir was absent from the swearing in ceremony, in addition to those MPs unable to attend.
Igga stressed the equality of the MPs in the newly reconstituted parliament.
“We are abolishing this, what others say, ‘these are Khartoum, these are appointed, these Juba.’ We are all South Sudanese in the liberation.”
The new cabinet is due to be formed after parliament opens on Monday, to replace the existing caretaker cabinet.
South Sudan was granted extensive autonomy from the Sudanese government under a 2005 peace deal that ended the decades-long conflict between the former southern rebels and Khartoum.
The accord paved the way for January’s referendum on independence, which was backed by an overwhelming majority of southerners, and full international recognition on July 9.
Council of State delegates elect speaker, take oaths
August 5, 2011 (JUBA) – The first sitting of the newly established South Sudan Council of States on Friday elected Joseph Bul Chan at its speaker, during a colourful ceremony that also witnessed the swearing-in of the 50 members appointed though the recently issued presidential decree.
- Members of the SPLM political bureau and the Council of States from the ruling party attending Thursday’s meeting. August 4, 2011 (Photo: Kenneth Thomas)
The half-day occasion, held at country’s National Assembly was presided over by John Wol Makech, Chief Justice of the newly independent Republic of South Sudan.
On August 1, South Sudan president Salva Kiir Mayardit issued a declaration establishing and appointing 50 Council of State representatives for the new nation, less than a month after he was sworn-in as its first leader.
The Council currently consists of 20 representatives from Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) drawn from all the 10 states of the country, and 30 additional members from “other categories”.
The Council of States, Sudan Tribune has learned, will meet in the Blue Room; one of the designated sections within the assembly.
Meanwhile, president Kiir on Thursday addressed a joint meeting of members from the SPLM political bureau and the Council of State members from the South Sudan’s ruling party. During the meeting, Kiir reportedly reiterated his earlier pledge to form a broad-based government that will effectively deliver services to the people.
He further urged the Council of the States members to work extra hard as South Sudan strives to address the enormous challenges that engulf the new nation citing, poor infrastructure, food insecurity, health shortfalls and political instabilities.
The president, also lauded renegade commander, Peter Gatdet, for his timely response to the amnesty he publicly announced on July 9, saying it was a true indication that even people, who initially rebelled, were committed to the development of the new nation.
On Wednesday, Gadet-led South Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SSLM/A) signed an unconditional ceasefire with the southern government, only for another faction of the rebel movement to emerge and completely distance themselves from the truce.
The Unity State-based rebel movement, their 4 August statement noted, is not affected by the defection of their leader, adding that Gadet and his spokesman, Bol Gatkouth Kol, allegedly had made a unilateral peace with the government in Juba.
The new Council of States, will among others duties, supervise the national reconstruction projects and programs being carried out by national institutions in the states, monitor the implementation of the decentralised systems by the institutions in the states, as well as carry out other functions as stipulated in the country’s transitional constitution
South Sudan MPs sworn in
2011-08-06 18:15
Juba – Newly independent South Sudan swore in its MPs on Saturday, two days ahead of parliament’s opening session, with the speaker calling for cooperation regardless of background or political affiliation.
“You are the founders of the first ever parliament of the Republic of South Sudan,” James Wani Igga told the National Legislative Assembly.
“I am calling for co-operation among ourselves in this esteemed house… regardless of any background,” he said, describing the presence of the different political parties as an “asset”.
According to a presidential decree issued last Monday, parliament consists of the 170 elected members from before independence, 96 former MPs elected to the National Assembly in Khartoum from southern constituencies, and another 66 newly appointed members.
Out of South Sudan’s 332 elected and appointed members, 279 MPs were sworn in on Saturday, including Vice President Riek Machar.
President Salva Kiir was absent from the swearing in ceremony, in addition to those MPs unable to attend.
The new cabinet is due to be formed after parliament opens on Monday, to replace the existing caretaker cabinet.
By Waakhe Simon (AFP)
JUBA — Newly independent South Sudan swore in its MPs on Saturday, two days ahead of parliament’s opening session, with the speaker calling for cooperation regardless of background or political affiliation.
“You are the founders of the first ever parliament of the Republic of South Sudan,” James Wani Igga told the National Legislative Assembly.
“I am calling for cooperation among ourselves in this esteemed house… regardless of any background,” he said, describing the presence of the different political parties as an “asset”.
According to a presidential decree issued last Monday, parliament consists of the 170 elected members from before independence, 96 former MPs elected to the National Assembly in Khartoum from southern constituencies, and another 66 newly appointed members.
Out of South Sudan’s 332 elected and appointed members, 279 MPs were sworn in on Saturday, including Vice President Riek Machar.
President Salva Kiir was absent from the swearing in ceremony, in addition to those MPs unable to attend.
The new cabinet is due to be formed after parliament opens on Monday, to replace the existing caretaker cabinet.
Igga stressed the equality of the MPs in the newly reconstituted parliament.
“We are abolishing this, what others say, ‘These are Khartoum, these are appointed, these are Juba. We are all South Sudanese in the liberation.”
But opposition leader Onyoti Adigo, who heads the SPLM-DC (Democratic Change), an offshoot of the ruling SPLM party, was strongly critical of the size of the new assembly on Saturday, calling instead for a “lean government.”
He said the money spent on the salaries of the 332 MPs and 50 members of the regional Council of States, which he said amounted to at least 7,000 Sudanese pounds ($2,000) per month each, plus expenses, could go towards much needed public services.
“That is why we in the opposition are propagating for lean government, in the sense that both legislative and executive are few in number, so that we save the money for delivery of services to the people,” he told AFP.
South Sudan is one of the poorest countries on earth that was left in ruins after five decades of devastating conflict between southern rebels and successive governments in the north.
The fledgling nation faces a host of daunting challenges, starting with rampant corruption, which the president has vowed to confront.
South Sudan was granted extensive autonomy from the Sudanese government under a 2005 peace deal that ended a second civil war.
The accord paved the way for January’s referendum on independence, which was backed by an overwhelming majority of southerners, and full international recognition on July 9.
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