MINISTER LAMOLA’S STATEMENT ON THE C5 MINISTERIAL MEETING

“I wish to start by commiserating with the people of South Sudan on the tragic killing of young boys from South Sudan in Khartoum. We condemn this act, we are encouraged by the willingness of the Sudanese leadership to investigate this matter and take swift action. We hope this matter can be speedily resolved by all the parties.

My address today is in the context of the long standing C5 Ministerial visit to South Sudan which we have been eagerly awaiting to undertake.

The purpose of our visit has been to obtain first-hand knowledge on the status of the implementation of the Revitalised Agreement and assess the support that is required. In addition, we also delivered a message of solidarity and support to the people and government of South Sudan and reaffirmed the continued commitment of the AU to accompany the transition process in the country.

We had productive meetings yesterday with his His Excellency First Vice President, Dr Riek Machar; a meeting with African Ambassadors based here in Juba; Representatives from IGAD, RJMEC and UNMISS. During these meetings views were provided with concrete proposals on how we can assist the transition period to address some of the challenges in the implementation of the Revitalized Agreement for the Resolution of Conflict in South Sudan.

We just had an opportunity to meet His Excellency President Salva Kiir Mayaradit and engaged on some of the key issues pertaining to the Revitalised Agreement.

We will brief our Presidents about our visit here in Juba and present concrete proposals aimed at supporting the transition that will pave the way towards free, fair and democratic elections in this beautiful country so that there is a democratic and peaceful end to the transitional period.

We are planning to have a C5 Meeting at Heads of State level on the margins of the African Union Summit next month in Addis Ababa.

As the C5, we commend the current peace and stability in South Sudan, and, we need to protect the gains that the country has attained thus far. We must sustain momentum in order to achieve our continental objective of silencing the guns.

Despite the challenges, we are encouraged by the commitment of the Government to sustain momentum towards elections and resolving differences. We believe this demonstrates political will and engender trust and confidence in the country.

It is our sincere commitment that during this critical period, the AU should scale up its support and be more visible and engaged with the people and government of South Sudan. We hope to be back in Juba in the near future in order to record more progress and receive updates on the implementation of outstanding issues; to enable elections to take place by December 2026 and to timely address any challenges and obstacles.

We would like to thank the Government of South Sudan for the hospitality afforded to us during our visit. We look forward to working together towards durable peace in South Sudan. Thank you.”