Marial: SPLA to grow into regional peacekeeper

BY A CORRESPONDENT

The Sudan People’s Liberation Army is on course to becoming a regional peacekeeper if the plans to make the army more skilled and efficient take off.
Information Minister Barnaba Marial Benjamin says the government will downsize the current number of southern forces, properly train them and transform them into into a regional peace keeping force.
Marial spoke last week at a workshop to discuss a new policy statement for the Southern Sudan Demobilisation, Disarmament and Reintegration Commission and the SPLA. A technical committee comprised of 10 senior officials from South Sudan Demobilization, Disarmament and Reintegration Commission (SSDDRC) and South Sudan’s Peoples Liberation Army (SPLA) developed the new policy outline.
SSDDRC said it had demobilized some 11,944 DDR participants as of mid-March in selected South Sudan states of Central Equatoria, Lakes, Western Bahr El-Ghazal, Northern Bahr el Ghazal and Eastern Equatoria.
William Deng Deng says the policy will be presented to cabinet before July 9.
“The next phase of the program, which is expected to begin after South Sudan’s independence declaration, will mainly focus on disarming, demobilizing and reintegrating active SPLA soldiers,” Deng added.

BRIEFLY

Allow us to prosecute, says Yai
The South Sudan Anti-Corruption Commission is pushing for power to be able to prosecute corrupt officials, an official has said. Deng Deng Hoc Yai, the Executive Director of the Commission said the lack of prosecutorial powers has hampered the work of the commission. Citing Nigeria, Yai said the power to prosecute would make the commission effective, saving the Government of Southern Sudan millions lost annually due to corruption.