Deputy President David Mabuza has concluded his two-day working visit to Juba in South Sudan, where he held consultations with various stakeholders and signatories to the Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan.
Deputy President Mabuza was in Juba as the Special Envoy, to urge all stakeholders especially the signatories to the Revitalised Agreement, to use the 100 days extended period of the pre-transition to implement key outstanding matters on governance and security arrangements that are necessary for the installation of the Transitional Government of National Unity.
“Our two-day, working visit to South Sudan has yielded positive results and a renewed sense of hope towards building sufficient consensus for lasting peace and stability for the people of South Sudan.
“We have interacted with the relevant parties who have expressed their commitment to working together, and guided by the objective to form a Transitional Government of National Unity.
“On our part, we are looking into convening these parties for a retreat that is aimed at confidence building,” said Deputy President Mabuza on Thursday.
The Deputy President highlighted the fact that all the parties have further agreed to establish mechanisms to supervise the implementation of the outstanding critical tasks related to security and governance.
“The acceptance of the extension on the formation of the Transitional Government of National Unity by all relevant stakeholders is quite encouraging and we would like to recommit ourselves and pledge our support as South Africa, to provide the necessary assistance to ensure that the timeframe agreed upon is fully realized,” said Mabuza.
During these consultations, Mabuza engaged amongst others, the representatives of the National Dialogue Steering Committee, the National Pre-Transitional Committee and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Special Envoy to South Sudan where he assured them of continued support by the government and people of South Africa.
Further to this, the Deputy President held a number of bilateral meetings with the First Vice President of South Sudan, Lt. Gen. Taban Deng Gai, the Vice President, Dr. James Wani Igga and the Vice President-Designate, Madam Rebecca Nyandeng Garang to engage on sticky issues requiring urgent attention.
Finally, Mabuza held a bilateral consultation with the President of South Sudan, Salva Kiir Mayardit, to express South Africa’s support and willingness to actively join hands with the government and the people of South Sudan, in the implementation of outstanding matters over this extended period of 100 days.
President Salva Kiir Mayardit then extended an invitation to Mabuza and his delegation, to join him for the Official Commissioning of the South Sudan Power Plant that is based in Kondokoro, Juba, which was funded by the Development Bank of Africa.
The Deputy President departed South Sudan on Thursday afternoon and was expected to arrive in South Africa by the evening. – SAnews.gov.za
