President Kiir meeting with Dr. Lam of SPLM-DC in Nairobi
Dr. Lam Akol meets President Kiir and described Kiir’s Speech to UN/GA “as good and came at the right time”
The President of the Republic H.E Gen. Salva Kiir Mayardit met today in his residence in Nairobi with Dr. Lam Akol the Chairperson of the SPLM/DC. Shortly after the meeting President of the Republic told South Sudan Radio and T.V that Dr. Lam decided to join the new nation building journey in ticket of his party SPLM/DC, and he will soon come to Juba. H.E Kiir said “We welcome his decision”.
In an intensive interview conducted by SST.V and Radio on Thursday 28th, Sept, 2011 at Serena Hotel in Nairobi, Dr. Akol said he has not come to Juba since the independence of South Sudan for a number of reasons some are personal and some are connected with political Atmosphere taking place in the country, adding that his meeting with H.E the President discussed some political issues and now that he is ready to come to Juba and he will not continue to keep away from his own country.
Dr. Lam Akol sent a message to the people of South Sudan saying that “We should push together as South Sudanese and be united for a common objective of building the new State in a democratic, political, Religious and cultural diversity” Dr. Akol urged his party to push forward with the program of building South Sudan and be a mirror of correcting mistakes for the Government and opposition are complementary parts. He emphasized that “We are joint together by the new country, only the way of serving people is being seen different from each other”
Dr. Akol Ajawin described the speech delivered by the President of the Republic H.E Gen. Salva Kiir Mayardit to the UN/GA in New York, as a good speech, for it came in the time that the newly born state of South Sudan is in need of a good will of the international community. He said UN and AU did not take long to recognize South Sudan. As we are now applying to the regional organizations, we expect smooth welcoming” Dr. Ajawin said. The Theme of the speech was that the new state is facing a lot of state building challenges, and we need to determine rather than others to determine for us, in which areas do we need to be assisted.
Reported By:
Thomas Kenneth Elisapana.
From Nairobi/28/9/2011
South Sudan’s president holds surprise meeting with Lam Akol
September 29, 2011 (NAIROBI) – South Sudan’s president Salva Kiir Mayardit on Thursday met with the leader of the opposition Sudan People’s Liberation Movement Democratic Change (SPLM-DC), Lam Akol, and announced that the latter had decided to return to the fold.
- SPLM-DC’s leader Lam Akol (L) and South Sudan’s president Salva Kiir (R) Source (http://paanluelwel2011.wordpress.com/)
Akol was a prominent member of the ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) in South Sudan since he rejoined the party in 2003 after 12 years during which he joined a breakaway faction that attempted to overthrow the late SPLM’s leader John Garang in 1991 and aligned with north Sudan’s ruling National Congress Party.
He split again from the SPLM in 2009 to form the SPLM-DC and later stood as a candidate against Kiir in South Sudan’s presidential elections of April 2010.
On 9 November 2009, Kiir slapped a ban on the SPLM-DC and the southern ruling party claimed that Akol’s splinter group was an armed movement causing unrest in the then semi-autonomous region.
South Sudan gained independence in July this year in line with the outcome of a referendum stipulated under the 2005’s peace deal that ended more than two decades of civil wars between the north and the south.
In a statement following the meeting, which took place in Kiir’s residence in the Kenyan capital Nairobi, the president said that Akol “decided to join the new nation building journey on the ticket of his party SPLM/DC, and he will soon come to Juba. “We welcome his decision,” he added.
For his part, Akol said that his meeting with Kiir had addressed some political issues and that he was now ready to return home after a long period of absence. He added that his decision to take a leave of absence was due to personal reasons as well as other reasons related to the political climate that was prevalent back then.
Akol further urged the people to push together as South Sudanese and be united for a common objective of building the new State in a democratic, political, Religious and cultural diversity”
In separate statements to the Nairobi-based Sudan Radio Service (SRS), Akol also opined that federalism is the best political system of governance for South Sudan.
Speaking about the advantages of a federal system, Akol said “Right now ninety percent of the budget of South Sudan is consumed in Juba, and only ten percent goes to the states – ten states get ten percent of the budget, one central government gets 90 percent. This is a skewed way of running our affairs. So federalism has many advantages, it is tested in many countries that have used it, it has kept the fabric of national unity, contrary to people who think that federalism tends to divide people. It makes you feel that you are respected in your own country and you are doing your part of national duty.”
Akol also said that retrieving the amounts of money stolen by corrupt officials in South Sudan is not enough, urging the government to make an example of them through prosecution.
“The call for the money to be returned , although yes it is good to get the money back but the person who took the money should be held accountable so that he does not do it again. So anybody who takes money outside must be held accountable for what he or she did.”
(ST)
http://www.sudantribune.com/South-Sudan-s-president-holds,40286
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