Peace and Rehabilitation commission’s acting chairperson, Betty Oboy Itorong speaks to Eye Radio in an exlusive interview on Wednesday|Photo by Moyo Jacob|05-06-2024

The Acting Chairperson of the Peace and Reconciliation Commission has decried that the absence of a functional board hinders decision-making.

Betty Oboy Itorong said it is stipulated in the Peace and Reconciliation Act 2012 that the institution must comprise five board members, where as the current leadership is limited to only people, others are absent.

She said the Chairperson of the Commission has long been away for health reasons while the deputy died in 2021.

According to Ms. Oboy, the absence of the officials to make a quorum hinders the operationalization of the commission to a greater extent since the quorum and they have been forced into conducting activity-based and not policy-based programs.

“Currently, there are only two present, that’s me and another member. That’s why the commission is lagging because there is no quorum,” Betty told Eye Radio on Wednesday in Juba.

“Any decision that is concerned with the activities or whatever issues dealing with the management of the commission is supposed to be discussed at the board level and a quorum has to be met,” she said.

“But ever since we do not have any quorum, whether it is 2021 2022, or 2020, the quorum has never been there until today.

“We are just carrying out activities because we do not want the programs that are already slated to get stuck,” she said.

Betty added, “We are now activity-based, not policy-based because the quorum is not there. You cannot make any policies; you cannot make any decision until this is rectified”.

Betty further says the continued absence of the quorum makes it difficult to hold the staff of the institution accountable since one cannot decide on an individual.

She stresses that there has to be a definite period for acting about three months and not forever.

“The role of the commission would have been strengthened if we had the board members fully participating. But there is absence, there is a lack of quorum. So many decisions cannot take place,” she said.

“Even staff, they cannot be here even for three years but when they come, they want their salaries, who is supposed to decide on that?  You cannot decide on an individual because there has to be a board in this place,” she added.

“There has to be a management team which is headed by the Executive Director but the Executive Director is not even there, and the position is not appointed.

“Everybody here is acting. You find the one in administration acting, the one in finance is acting, everybody is acting. There has to be a period for acting, you cannot act forever,” she said.

“I have been acting in the place of the deputy since 2021 up to now, it is illegal and if I am acting in the place of the chair from 2022 up to now is also illegal, it cannot be indefinite,” Betty concluded.