File: Members of the SSPDF during the commemoration of the 36th SPLA Day at Bilpam on 23 May, 2019 . Joakino Francis/Eye Radio.

The SSPDF will soon retire some of its officers as it embarks on reforming the national army, the spokesperson of the SSPDF has revealed.

The Sentry reports said that South Sudan has more military generals than doctors.

Transforming the former SPLA, now SSPDF, into a professional army has been a promise made by several former Chiefs of Defense Forces.

But experts said the task has not been easy – considering the rampant corruption by top military leaders, and the level of illiteracy among the soldiers.

They reported that the army is still loyal to individual politicians and community leaders.

Last month, the SSPDF said that it formed committees to restructure the command and leadership of the army to include the SPLA-IO and Opposition Alliance.

Currently, the SSPDF has a Chief of Defense Forces, while the SPLA-IO maintains its Chief of General Staff, among other field commanders.

According to the SSPDF spokesperson, these various commands will be harmonized in anticipation of the unification of the forces.

Speaking to Eye Radio, Maj. Gen. Lul Ruai Koang said as part of reforming the army, some officers may be required to retire.

This will be done based on experience and qualification, among others.

He said the Chief of Defense forces has established more committees to work on the matter.

They include committees for reorganizing the directorates of logistics and procurement, restructuring, operations, administration, combat service, and others.

“We had embarked on auditing our manpower when the current chief of defense forces general JJ Okot was appointed, he was given a very clear task by His Excellency the President that go, clean and reorganize the army,” the army spokesperson said.

“He [JJ Okot] had embarked on that, he had started with the formation of a committee to reorganize the army, he formed 20 committees and they had been reorganizing the army, looking at the manpower.”

“We had been concentrating on the issue downsizing, knowing how many qualified officers and NCOs do we have in terms of experience and academic qualification. At the end of this exercise, I’m very sure that the SSPDF will emerge a very strong and formidable army in East Africa.”

General Lul added that the retirement of some of the officers will also require pension funds to be enacted.

“Our ranks are inflated the best way on how to control this inflation of rank is an enactment of the pension fund,” Gen. Lul said.

“Once we have this correct picture of course those who qualify for them to be retired will be recommended for retirement and am very sure there is going to be some controlled or random promotion.”

“One of the reasons why we are having so many officers is the lack of political stability which is always followed by military unrest and whenever you form your small faction you end up promoting officers to various ranks.”

“When an agreement is reached, the government is forced to absorb into the system the officers that you had promoted, they get confirmed and they find themselves in the system, this had been the biggest problem.”

“All these ranks we are working on phasing them through a pension,” he concluded.