The executive director of the civil society organization, Intrepid South Sudan, Bol Deng Bol has renewed calls for the urgent reopening of the Jonglei State Transitional Legislative Assembly, which he says has remained in recess for nearly two years.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, he said the prolonged closure has weakened government oversight and worsened challenges facing communities across the state.
According to Deng, the state’s executive is operating without legislative scrutiny and collecting and spending public revenues without an approved budget. He described the state assembly as a key institution responsible for making laws, representing citizens and holding other arms of government accountable.
“The executive arm of the government now operates without any legislative scrutiny,” he charged. “It continues to make revenues, enjoy them and even spend freely without a budget.”
Deng warned that the situation could undermine the rule of law and increase the risk of corruption, while insecurity and humanitarian needs continue to affect communities.
Intrepid South Sudan also expressed concern over ongoing communal conflicts, the deteriorating humanitarian situation, particularly in northern Jonglei, and what it described as shrinking civic space. The organization is calling on the Council of States to engage the Government of Jonglei State and push for an end to what it termed an abnormal and prolonged recess.
Deng stressed that reopening the assembly is necessary to restore accountability and allow the state government to properly perform its constitutional duties.
“All this and more necessitates urgent reopening of the state legislative assembly,” he said.
The Jonglei State executive and the speaker of the state assembly have not yet commented on the concerns.
South Sudan’s transitional governance arrangements are based on the 2018 peace agreement, whose implementation has faced repeated delays due to political disputes, insecurity and funding challenges.
and then