South Sudan's English Daily Newspaper
"We Dare where others fear"

By Simon Deng
Support Peace Initiative Development Organization (SPIDO) has concluded the dissemination of the constitutional making process Act 2022, in the three States of Greater Equatoria region.
“Today, basically SPIDO is conducting activity on the dissemination of the Constitution Making Process Act 2022, we are looking at the stakeholders’ recommendations and commitments in regards to the Constitution Making Process,” said Wodcan Saviour Lazarus, Executive Director for SPIDO on Thursday during a workshop held at Landmark hotel in Juba.
Lazarus said his organization is conducting a workshop to generate recommendations that will be given to the National Constitution Review Commission (NCRC) to help them in their programming in terms of civic education and public consultation process.
“We have not gone into the process of what we call the permanent constitution itself, whereby public consultation and civic education is to be conducted. We are here working hand- in- hand with the government to ensure that public views are really put into consideration,” he said.
Lazarus said they have reached out to state capitals and counties within the Greater Equatoria region, adding that they have received recommendations and also feedback from the people at the grassroots.
“We have only reached at the state level and few nearby counties but this awareness is to be carried in all the levels of the administrations of the government. For now, we are supposed to be talking of the civic education and public consultations,” he said.
Lazarus said that the Interim Constitution 2005 and also the Transitional Constitution 2011 was drafted without the involvement of the public, adding that there is need to provide support to the Constitutional Review Commission such that they are able to execute their mandates.
He urged the government to release funds to facilitate the National Constitution Review Commission.
The two- day workshop on the dissemination of the Constitution Making Process Act, 2022 was held with the support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
The workshop was attended by Paulino Lukudu Obede, the Deputy Governor of Central Equatoria State, academia, faith-based groups and representatives of persons with disability.