The SPLM Secretary for Information, Lam Both | File photo

The continued delay to fully establish state governments should be blamed on the SPLM party of President Salva Kiir, the SPLM in Opposition has said.

The parties to the September 2018 peace accord have so far appointed governors of all the ten states and three administrators for the administrative areas.

But they have not yet appointed state advisors, ministers, commission chairpersons and members, county commissioners, state legislative assembly, and county council representatives.

Early this month, the presidency resolved to fully establish state governments before the 15 February.

However, the deadline passed without the formation and appointment of state advisors, ministers, commission chairpersons and members, county commissioners, state legislative assembly, and county council representatives.

The SPLM-IO information secretary says the SPLM in government should be held responsible for “delaying the formation” of the state governments.

Puok Bok says the SPLM-IO submitted the list of its nominees to the president for the different levels of government and is only waiting for the announcement.

“According to the information we got, it is the former TGOUN is still in consultation to select its nominees to the various levels of state government,” Bok told Eye Radio on Thursday.

“Confused governors” to blame

However, the spokesperson of the SPLM says the delay to establish state governments is due to the confusion among governors over percentages of responsibility-sharing allocated for the peace parties.

Peter Lam Both, who is also the party’s secretary of culture and information, stated that they have sent the governors back several times over the division of percentages.

“The formation of the state government is delaying, not because of any policy or any system, but it is just because the governors are confused,” Both told Eye Radio.

“They go and take percentages that are not theirs, so when they return, we keep sending them back because they have not done a good job.”

But according to the revitalized peace deal, the responsibility sharing ratio at state and local government levels shall be 55% for the SPLM; 27% for the SPLM/A-IO; 10% for SSOA, and 8% for OPP.

Other tasks the peace parties are yet to accomplish include unifying and deploying government and opposition forces and reconstituting the national legislature – the body responsible for enacting reforms stipulated in the agreement.

According to observers, disputes among the peace parties and financial constraints have presented major obstacles to completing the peace processes.