South Sudan's English Daily Newspaper
"We Dare where others fear"
By Simon Deng
Support Peace Initiative Development Organization (SPIDO) has extended it’s public awareness campaign on the Constitutional Making Process Act, 2022 to Eastern Equiatoria State.
Wodan Saviour Lazarus, Executive Director of SPIDO asked last week the political leaders, civil society and religious leaders in Eastern Equatoria State to take up the responsibility of disseminating the ongoing constitutional making process.
“You know the entire (constitutional) process according to the peace agreement was supposed to be done within the past 18 months, but unfortunately the process has lagged behind due to the delays in providing enough funding for the National Constitutional Review Commission (NCRC),” said Saviour during a workshop organized on June 27,2024 in Torit.
Despite the funding gaps, SPIDO encouraged people to appreciate the milestone the NCRC and civil society have so far achieved as far as the dissemination of the constitutional-making process Act, 2022 is concerned.
Saviour noted that SPIDO together with the National Constitutional Review Commission have been carrying outreach programs on radio stations to reach out the population in Greater Equatoria region in the past few months.
“We have been hosted on several occasion on radio stations because disseminating the constitutional making process Act, 2022 requires spreading information widely in the public, I think our activities would have been impossible to carry out without involving the media,” he said.
Saviour noted that the past delays in funding the NCRC have impacted the constitutional making process, adding that they hope to try to accomplish their task within a period of 7 months.
“With or without funding you must pass information on the constitutional making Act, some people doubt whether elections is there or not, but want I want to say is that we need a constitution, we have never had a permanent constitution,” he disclosed.
The process of making the 2005 interim constitution and the 2011 Transitional Constitution, the authors of these two documents did not consult the public prior to the promulgation of these documents.
SPIDO is being funded to carry out the dissemination of the constitutional making Act, 2022 under the United Nations Development Programm (UNDP) Justice, Security and Human Rights Strengthening program.
SPIDO started it’s awareness campaign in Central Equatoria State, Western Equatoria before Eastern Equatoria State.
Mathew Tombe Nehemiah, State Advisor on Peace and Security Affairs, urged the public to strongly participate in the constitutional making process, adding that it is their views that will shape the permanent constitution they want.
“What we are discussing here is what will govern our nation, and we want your contribution, bring your ideas so that tomorrow when the governing constitution comes into place, you will know that you participated in it, you will know that you are part of the people who participated in the constitution making process,” said Tombe.
