The South Sudan Law Society says the government should suspend further oil contracts for three years, including for service delivery, to avoid more obligations from the private sector.

This was resolved in a dialogue to provide recommendations to ensure South Sudan’s natural resource wealth is used for bringing peace to the country, rather than war.

In a report, the body says the Ministry of Petroleum and Mining could focus on bringing the oil fields back to full production and implementing the existing laws.

However, it says the suspension would not apply to existing agreements.

The South Sudan Law Society says the government should first suspend all new petroleum sector contracts, including contracts for service delivery.

It should place the two percent of oil revenue of oil producing states and the three percent of oil revenue meant for communities in oil-producing areas in a monitored bank account, until a there is a transparent system of distributing this revenue in place.

It recommended that the government should also consider depositing the remaining oil revenue in an agreed account at a reputable international bank, and restrict access to it.

It says the move would indicate to international capital that South Sudan is committed to putting its house in order, creating an environment that appeals to serious business investments in the country.

The dialogue, which was held early this year, brought together 18 South Sudanese and international experts for two days, to deliberate on how oil issues might feature into the agenda of the interim government in South Sudan.