South Sudan's English Daily Newspaper
"We Dare where others fear"
By Simon Deng
Several opinion leaders and community members of Western Equatoria State, are beaming with optimism and hope of a people represented constitution after the recent consultations carried out by Support Peace Initiative Development Organization (SPIDO).
SPIDO organized a two-day workshop on 22nd to 23rd August at Super Star hotel in Yambio, which brought together State government officials, opinion leaders and representatives of communities.
John Barona, State minister of cabinet affairs, said during the workshop that the people of Western Equatoria State have shown their eagerness to learn more about the constitution making process Act.
“If you wanted to continue to teach us for one more month, these people would be still here they would leave their gardens because they want to be here,” said Barona.
Barona said majority of local people in the State were not fully aware of the ongoing consultations on the constitutional making process Act until SPIDO arrived in the State.
“We didn’t know fully the constitution making process Act, but we are at the process of knowing because there are stages yet we haven’t reached,” he said.
The chairperson of persons with disability in Western Equatoria State, Moses Mangianga said that the enactment of the permanent constitution will help transition the country toward sustainable peace and stability.
“We people with disability dislike insecurity, we need to stay peacefully, the responsibility of making the permanent constitution is a collective effort,” said Mangianga.
The State minister of gender, child and social welfare, Anigunde Cecelia Bii appreciated the Access to Justice, Security and Human Rights sector under the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for enabling SPIDO to carry out dissemination of the constitutional making process Act to the people.
She noted that the State government has not been in position to disseminate the constitutional making process Act to the communities in the State.
“If you want our people to achieve peace in Western Equatoria State and in the entire South Sudan, those of us who are here, we are the first to have that peace in our heart to take into consideration seriously and disseminate the knowledge that we have learnt,” Cecelia said.
She said that the constitutional making process Act should be disseminated widely at the grassroots level in order to make the people understand their constitutional rights in their constituencies, adding that when this is done it will give room for peace across the country.
Lucy Elundah, UNDP Access to Justice, Security and Human Rights Specialist in Western Equatoria State, said that after the dissemination of the constitutional making process Act, consultations and civic education will commence.
“We are looking forward to your participation in terms of civic engagement, especially the civil society organizations coming in very clearly to support the civic education and the public to understand the processes,” said Elundah.
She said that UNDP will continue to lobby for more resources for the dissemination of the constitutional making process Act.
Wodcan Saviour Lazarus, SPIDO Executive Director urged the more than 50 participants to share the information learned on the constitutional making process Act with other ordinary citizens in the different constituents.
“Laws are not meant to be made by lawyers, from the point of view what we know you are the right people to make the laws, so since you are the right people it needs to have more knowledge and the only work of the lawyers is to interpret the law, so it means whatever views you are going to give during public consultations when now National Constitutional Review Commission will be coming together with civil society they will make it very comprehensive whereby your views will be collected and reflected in the constitution,” said Lazarus .
Benjamin Kamanda, the Director General of Local Government representing the participants emphasized that people’s participation is the only way to make the constitution perfect.
“This is a people’s document and it is to be owned through a democratic system of governance, and I think all of us here are aware of our roles,” said Kamanda.
