Trainees are seen in sandals or flip-flops at the Maridi Training Center on Saturday, Feb 29, 2020. Credit | Haitham Aweet

The Minister for Defense has asked soldiers at the training centers to be more patient as the government addresses challenges facing them.

Two weeks ago, Angelina Teny said they will graduate all forces at the training centers at the end of this month.

But while inspecting the forces at Maridi town of Western Equatoria State yesterday, she called on the soldiers to be more patient as the government solves challenges impeding their graduation.

“What is needed from any soldier is patience,” Angelina Teny told told the forces awaiting graduation as part of the unifying government and opposition forces.

“You have been here since December 2019, now it is one full year so if you were not patient and if somebody has bad ideas against South Sudan, you couldn’t be here now. So you have been strong and patient,” she added on Saturday via SSBC-TV.

Angelina was accompanied to the military training center by the IGAD Special Envoy to South Sudan, Ismail Wais, and the Interim Chairperson of the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission, Charles Tai Gituai.

“I want to thank and appreciate your patience. My second big thanks is going to your trainers. The trainer is like a mother and father who is teaching the young people about the wrong and good things. The spirit that I am seeing on you is the spirit of unity and nationalism. This is because of your trainers.”

Last week, a representative of the civil society to the Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Committee—RJMEC called on the peace parties to fulfill their promises to graduate soldiers being trained as part of reforming the security sector.

The Joint Defense Board—a body tasked with implementing the security arrangements has postponed the graduation of the forces several times.

Over the past year, Eye Radio has reported about challenges facing the training sites, including lack of food and medical supplies.

These challenges have reportedly forced some soldiers to desert their camps.