Angelina Teny, the Minister of Defense and Veterans Affairs addressing the 5th governors' forum in Juba on Monday - credit | Office of the FVP Dr. Riek Machar | Nov 22, 2021

The ministers of information and defense have differed on the reasons behind the delayed graduation of the unified forces.

According to Michael Makuei, the government does not have weapons to give to the peace soldiers.

He says this is due to the government’s inability to purchase firearms after the UN Security Council imposed an arms embargo on South Sudan.

Makuei also underscores the agreement on the command structure as another critical issue delaying the graduation.

“We have not graduated the forces because of other issues which have not actually been put in the agreement and part of them we as parties to the agreement are responsible for this delay,” Makuei said at the ongoing 5^th Governors’ Forum in Juba.

“The agreement provided for the establishment of cantonment sites where the soldiers are screened and then taken for training in the training centers.

“It was unfortunate that we decided to disregard that and took the soldiers immediately and there was no even cantonment, we took them from wherever we took them straight to the training centers.”

Michael Makuei added that the peace parties are to blame for the delay, arguing that the process leading to the unification of forces was not well followed.

He points out that the parties may be forced to graduate without weapons due to pressure from the International community.

“The international community is pressing on us despite the fact that they have pass on arm embargo they are pressing on us to graduate them and this people came to the training center without their arms, now we being ask to graduate them,

“How do we graduate them? Do we graduate them with those sticks on which they were trained in the training centers and if we graduate them what will they do? Will we call them a national army? That is a no because an army must have weapons.

“At the end of the day, we may force them to graduate because the UN Security Council and the international community are forcing us to graduate.”

Responding to the claims, the Minister of Defense and Veterans Affairs – Angelina Teny said Makuei’s statement is incorrect.

“I really didn’t want to make this into a party debate but my comrade Michael Makuei makes it very impossible for one to watch such,” Angelina said.

“I have been involved from day one as part of the security mechanism. It is unfair to say that the security mechanism did not do their work.

“The security mechanism under very difficult circumstances not only the issue of resources but also issues of political nature among the parties affected their work but they continue to navigate as a mechanism using their mandate as given by the agreement.”

The peace government has often said the graduation has been delayed due to “lack of funds”.

However, Angelina stated that the unified forces can be graduated in four weeks time if money is available.

There are thousands of SSPDF, SPLA-IO and Opposition Alliance forces in various cantonment camps across the country, some of whom have chosen to leave the camps over the graduation.

They have been at the training camps since 2019.

About 53,000 forces are expected to graduate from the training camps.

They include the army, police, and national security, among others.