Good Evening, It S 5 O Clock. I M David Lukan

NEWS BULLETIN SCRIPT Sunday, April 08, 2018 21 Jan 2015 Good evening, it’s 5 o’clock. I’m David Lukan.

The Headlines

 Transitional government expected on 1 April

 Equatorian Governors present position on power sharing arrangements to IGAD mediators

 Calm returns to Maban, days after civilians were killed in inter-communal fighting

Government and opposition delegations at the Addis Ababa talks have agreed to complete negotiations and resolve all outstanding issues, including the structure of a transitional government, by 5 March.

President Salva Kiir and the government delegation have returned to Juba to hold consultations on the details of the power-sharing arrangements.

Speaking on return to Juba, Information Minister Michael Makuei told journalists the transitional government is expected to come into effect by 1 April.

He said talks will resume later this month.

Makuei: “We agreed that on the 19 of this month the principles plus the negotiating teams will go back to Addis to go and continue talking and reach the final agreement not later than 5 March this year. After 5 March up to the end of March the negotiators will continue to work out the implementation modalities and by 30 March all the proceedings, the whole agreement, would have been signed so that the pre-transitional period starts on 1 April. That is, 1 April should mark the beginning or operationalization of the would-be agreement.”

President Salva Kiir and opposition leader Riek Machar late yesterday signed another ceasefire agreement, recommitting themselves to stop fighting.

Meanwhile, The Director of the Center for Peace and Development Studies at the University of Juba, Luka Biong, described the recommitment as a positive move, but says the people of South Sudan were expecting the warring parties to reach a peace deal.

Biong: “First of all, I think this is a very positive development, although the people of South Sudan were expecting the parties to conclude an agreement because the aspiration of the people of South Sudan is to have peace. But again for them to recommit themselves for the cessation of hostilities, it has been a repetitive recommitment and I hope that this time it should be different. The other thing is for them to resolve other outstanding issues. I think that this is very important in the sense that we hope the information we have that the parties might have agreed now for the position of the first vice-president and that one if it is resolved I think the remaining issues might be quite easy.”

Edmun Yakani, the Executive Director for Community Empowerment for Progress Organization, CEPO, expresses doubt on the latest recommitment.

He says this is the fifth time the parties are recommitting themselves, but have not honored the previous ones.

Yakani: “But, unfortunately, this is now the fifth recommitment for the cessation of hostilities. Remember the cessation of hostilities was signed on 23 February 2014. Then there is a recommitment on 9 May, there is 1 | P a g e NEWS BULLETIN SCRIPT Sunday, April 08, 2018 21 Jan 2015 recommitment on 9 July, recommitment at China-Khartoum event, recommitment in Arusha and yesterday again recommitment. This is now the fifth recommitment. And then, unfortunately, one of the challenging situations is that … as they are recommitting themselves the day before yesterday they are clashing in Mayom. This time I think the international community should take the last recommitment as a serious one.”

Meanwhile, the three governors of Eastern, Western and Central Equatoria have returned from Addis Ababa, where they had gone to present their position on a proposed peace deal to IGAD mediators.

Their position is based on an emergency meeting held in Juba last Friday that rejected a proposal to install Riek Machar to the position of first Vice-President, calling it a move to sideline the Equatorians.

Speaking on return at Juba international Airport, Western Equatoria State Governor Bangazi Joseph Bakasoro explained what they presented to the mediators in Ethiopia.

Bakasoro: “We presented our position as Equatorians that the position of the first vice-president should remain for Equatoria without any subtraction and that was what we presented. And the troika, the envoys took our position papers and we also met with the president of Kenya and we presented the same document to him. I think they are going to discuss and they are going to come out with good results. We shall continue to negotiate.”

Catholic Bishops have issued a strong statement calling for an end to the conflict.

Speaking at the end of the Conference, the Archbishop of Juba Diocese, Paulino Lukudu Loro, said a legitimate government is one which is able to bring peace, development and stability to its people.

Lukudu said it is difficult for the country to move forward when money is being spent on buying weapons instead for building roads.

Loro: Loro: “How will the nation move forward if money is spent on weapons of destruction instead of roads, schools, hospitals and development activities? How will we establish a civilian democracy if the nation remains so militarized? Any party that continues to fight the war against the innocent citizens of South Sudan has no legitimacy.”

The statement was signed by seven bishops at the close of a Bishops Conference in Juba.

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Calm has returned to Maban County, in Upper Nile state, days after two civilians were killed in clashes between local communities and Sudanese refugees from Blue Nile State.

Deputy Governor Awer Dau Agang says the fighting, which broke out on Saturday, left six people injured.

Dau says security has been deployed and the situation is now calm.

Agang: “The problem happens between a citizen from Maban on his farm and a refugee from Blue Nile and the issue escalates up to the two communities in the camps. Unfortunately, we lost two people from both sides. The problem has been contained and the situation is stable between these communities. Maban County is accommodating more than 130,000 refugees from Blue Nile state, distributed in four camps in the county.”

2 | P a g e NEWS BULLETIN SCRIPT Sunday, April 08, 2018 21 Jan 2015 The newly appointed cabinet of Western Bahr el Ghazal State has been sworn into office.

The ministers and state advisors took their oaths in the presence of the State Governor, Rizik Zakaria Hassan.

The Governor called on the new officials to put systems in place to ensure proper service delivery.

Rizik: “We have just witnessed the swearing in of the government that is comprised of 10 advisors, 11 ministers, including the commissioner for culture and music, and, above all, the Deputy Governor. Renewal of the government means change in the assignment. Criteria for selecting the government are commitment to the party, cooperation with the governor and state government and administration of the ministry. Sometimes you find a minister doing the work of a messenger, of Director General, of Director of Accounts and so on. We do not expect this. Some of the governments that we dissolved in the past is the result of mismanagement of money.”

Governor Rizik Zakaria reshuffled his cabinet and appointed new advisors late last month.

The Steering committee of the South Sudan Bar Association says arrangements for election of an executive body will go ahead, after the Court of Appeal rejected a petition against the process on Friday.

The elections of the bar association were cancelled in November after two advocates appealed against the steering committee and the electoral procedures.

The Acting Secretary General of the Bar Association Steering Committee, Barnaba Korena, says they will now go ahead with the preparations for elections.

Korena: “The election committee has the right from the date of the ruling to continue all the preparations for elections and inform advocates about the timing, unless the committee receives another notification from any court to stop the process. And that is if the petitioners use the legal right of appeal. So the election committee has the right to continue and resume preparations for the election of the bar association.”

Primary Leaving Examinations have started in Lakes State.

More than 3,000 pupils across the state are sitting for the next five days.

State Minister for Education Dut Makoi Kuok says children in areas affected by insecurity have been allocated centers in peaceful areas.

Makoi Kuok says the number of candidates sitting the exams has gone up compared to last year.

Kuok: “The children who are sitting for Primary School Leaving Certificates are 3,190. Among them, we have 627 girls and we have across the state 20 centers. We have schools which are affected by insecurity but we have relocated all of them to peaceful area. We have Maleng-Agok, one of those seriously affected by insecurity. We have moved the children to town here. We have other schools in Western Yirol. We also have problems in Abiriu and Malou-Pec in Cueibet County. We have moved the children to peaceful areas, so we have only one child who is affected by insecurity sitting at police headquarters.”

In regional news

The Ugandan army says it has uncovered the remains of Okot Odhiambo, a top commander of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebel group.

3 | P a g e NEWS BULLETIN SCRIPT Sunday, April 08, 2018 21 Jan 2015 Odhiambo was one of five LRA commanders indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

He is presumed to have been killed in 2013 during clashes between the army and LRA fighters in South Sudan, the Central African Republic or northeast Democratic Republic of Congo.

Uganda’s army spokesperson, Lt. Col. Paddy Ankunda, says they have uncovered his grave and are in the process of carrying out DNA tests to ascertain his true identity.

And in local sports

Samuel Pawon is here with more.

Samuel’s report: “In the Division One Juba basketball tournament, table leaders Malakia beat Nimra Talata 75-65 at the Nimra Talata stadium. In other games, National Engineers managed a win of 82-63 points against Munuki, while Black Stars beat Warriors by 50 points to 40.

Onto football, Tahrir FC beat Salam 2 nil at the Bodwaye stadium in the ongoing Division Two qualifiers tournament in Yambio, Western Equatoria state. Villa United secured the match points after a 2-nil victory over St. Mary. In the women’s football tournament in Central Equatoria, Peace FC defeated Fly United 1-nil, and Day City defeated Black 04, 3-nil. In the Division One tournament going on in Abyei, Agrab beat Ngok FC 2-1 and Mading Ashung won the match against Olyampic FC by 2 goals nil.

I am Samuel Pawon for Radio Miraya News.

To end the news, here are the headlines once again.

 Transitional government expected on 1 April

 Equatorian governors present position on power sharing arrangements to IGAD mediators

 Calm returns to Maban, days after civilians were killed in inter-communal fighting

And that’s Radio Miraya news! I’m David Lukan.

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