Establishment of an Executive Branch in South Africa

Sunday, 7^th August 2011

Referring to earlier correspondences between his office and the office of the Party Leader — and also members of the NEC — the Secretary-General, Dr. Justin Ambago Ramba, informed of the official establishment on Sunday of a USSP executive office branch in South Africa in accordance with the party’s Constitution (2006).

USSP has, thus, registered yet another success in its long journey towards
bringing about the realisation of the dreams of the South Sudanese people for a free and prosperous homeland through the efforts and endeavours of its sons
and daughters wherever they may be.

On Sunday, 7^th August 2011 the city of Johannesburg in the sisterly Republic of South Africa witnessed, in one of the strategic moves of this gallant party, the formation of the first USSP branch executive body on the African continent.

Below is the list of the new executive officers as forwarded by their
elected chairperson:

1. Taban John Wajaras Yanga (“Moilinga”) — Chairperson
   
2. Sanya F.A. — Secretary-General
   
3. Kolok Julius Lokiden — Treasurer
   
4. Chandiga Patrick Runu — Secretary for Information
   
5. Ruley Samuel Madragi — Secretary for Mobilisation
   

Source: Office of the USSP Secretary-General

Independent, Sovereign South Sudan

“Seek ye first the Political Kingdom and all else will follow.”
—Kwame Nkrumah, Statesman and Pan-Africanist

Congratulations to all South Sudanese and Well-Wishers on their long-awaited Independence!

Long Live South Sudan.
God Bless South Sudan.

Press Statement

Withdrawal From Political Parties’ Leadership Forum

28/4/2011 [Juba]

We, the undersigned political parties, which pulled out [of] the Constitutional Review Committee, have now decided to withdraw from the Political Parties’ Leadership Forum (PPLF) for the following reasons:

1. We had written to the Rapporteur of the PPLF, the Vice-President of the Government of [Southern] Sudan (GOSS), seeking assurances that the PPLF [would] discuss issues related to the Final Communiqué of the Political Parties’ meeting of October 17^th, 2010. The Vice-President replied that:
   
   1. the meeting shall be an open forum, and it shall be the leaders who shall adopt the agenda. That is, they can add to or remove anything they wish from the items of the agenda suggested by the secretariat.
      

      
      

   2. the decision of the forum shall be by consensus.
      

2. These assurances from the Vice-President of GOSS convinced us that . . .
   
   [Please read the entire press statement here.]
   

Interim Constitutional Review Timeline

Owing to much pressure exerted on the Government of Southern Sudan (GOSS), the “one-party[SPLM]-reviewed“ Interim Constitution of Southern Sudan (ICSS) 2005 will now be referred to the Political Parties’ Leadership Forum as per the following timetable:

15 April 2011 — The Technical Review Committee presents the draft amendments to the ICSS and the attendant explanatory report to the President of GOSS, H.E. Salva Kiir Mayardit;

17 April 2011 — The President distributes the draft amendments to the ICSS to the members of the Political Parties’ Leadership Forum for review;

25–27 April 2011 — The Political Parties’ Leadership Forum meets to discuss the draft amendments to the ICSS;

29 April 2011 — The Council of Ministers discusses the draft amendments to the ICSS;

2 May 2011 — The draft amendments to the ICSS are tabled in the Southern Sudan Legislative Assembly (SSLA);

3 May – 1 July 2011 — The draft amendments to the ICSS are availed to the SSLA for review and public consultations as appropriate;

2–8 July 2011 — Deliberation and adoption of the amendments to the ICSS by the SSLA; and

9 July 2011 — Promulgation of the amendments to the ICSS (i.e. the Transitional Constitution of the Republic of South Sudan 2011) by the President.

Mr Brian Badi
Deputy Leader,
United South Sudan Party
Juba, South Sudan

USSP Condemns the Arrest of Ms Bernadette Justin Banda

FREE Ms Bernadette Banda NOW!

April 13, 2011

The United South Sudan Party (USSP) General Secretariat condemns the politically-motivated arrest of Ms Bernadette Banda which took place on 12th April 2011 in the hands of the security authorities in the town of Nzara. Ms Banda is a prominent member of USSP in Nzara, Western Equatoria State. She was arrested immediately following a political rally addressed by Mr Clement J. Mbugoniwia, the Party Leader, where he updated the party grassroots and the people of Nzara Town on the current political situation as South Sudan moves towards independence in less than three months’ time.

The USSP leadership vows to do everything in its capacity to see to it that Ms Banda is immediately set free with a clear reassurance that her political and human rights are never to be infringed upon again. For these very reasons we would like to call upon the Human Rights Watch (HRW) to assist us in bringing an end to Ms Banda’s ordeal as she is a prisoner of conscience and not a criminal. The fact that there is an attempt to silence her by putting her behind bars — a malicious move in line with the perceived trend to the obstruction of democratic transformation, freedom of expression and the respect for human rights in this region — sounds an alarm.

We look towards the friends of South Sudan in the different organisations representing the international community in Juba, Yambio and other parts of South Sudan to take a stand on this issue for a quick and safe release of a lady who, as a citizen, is entitled to her political opinion and beliefs.

While we will continue to fight against any dubious moves at all levels aimed at the intimidation of our members and supporters from exercising their rights to gatherings, free speech and association, we would also like to appeal to all the government institutions in South Sudan at all levels to uphold the principles of human rights as enshrined in the International Conventions.

Dr Justin Ambago Ramba
Secretary General,
United South Sudan Party (USSP)

The Southern Sudan Political Parties’ Leadership Forum

The Southern Sudan Political Parties’ Leadership Forum concluded its meetings on Thursday [17 February 2011] here in Juba and reached the following decisions wherein it:

1. Approved the results of the Southern Sudan Referendum and congratulated the people of Southern Sudan on their historic decision to vote overwhelmingly for independence;
   
2. Commended and approved the report of the Chairman of the Southern Sudan 2011 Referendum Taskforce;
   
3. Unanimously approved that the name of the new state be “The Republic of South Sudan”;
   
4. Approved that the name of the new currency be the “South Sudan Pound”;
   
5. Approved the participation of political parties, civil society organisations and faith-based groups, and the inclusion of their members, in the established technical committee to review the Interim Constitution of Southern Sudan (ICSS). United South Sudan Party is among the eleven political parties that will join the technical committee in reviewing the interim constitution;
   
6. Approved that the post-referendum process of creating a National Anthem and a Coat of Arms (emblem) for the new nation proceed as planned under the Taskforce Technical Working Group’s work plan with public participation in those activities;
   
7. Approved the current Flag, which the SPLM party has now surrendered to the new nation;
   
8. Approved that the amended draft ICSS be presented to the Political Parties’ Leadership Forum before it is presented to the Southern Sudan Legislative Assembly.
   

It’s important to note that all the other political parties agreed to work together in unison in order to ensure that no single party or government entity gets away with doing things unilaterally. The new country still faces challenging times ahead. Several issues still remain unresolved, such as the duration of the transitional period, the percentages of participation by other political parties (i.e. power sharing), the dissolution of the current institutions of GOSS (Government of Southern Sudan), to mention but a few.

Clement J. Mbugoniwia
Juba, South Sudan

Congratulations to All South Sudanese on Independence!

On this historic day [7 February 2011] of the official announcement by the Southern Sudan Referendum Commission of the final results of the recently-conducted Referendum, United South Sudan Party (USSP) would like to congratulate all the citizens and leaders of South Sudan on their unity, courage, commitment and success in fulfilling their deeply-held aspirations for an independent South Sudanese state. Equitable nation building should be the next, equally important stage in our struggle. USSP believe that it is this spirit of unity of the South Sudanese people that culminated in the overwhelming vote of 98.83 % for an independent sovereign state. We hope that this spirit of unity will continue to guide us throughout the next difficult and challenging stages in the history of our new-born nation.

God bless South Sudan!

Find here a PDF copy of a congratulatory message to the President.

As South Sudanese continue to celebrate the results of the recently-concluded Referendum — which was overwhelming in favour of South Sudan's independence — United South Sudan Party is pleased to continue to add several new members to the Party, some of whom were previous members of other political parties. New steering committees are being set up in all the states, such as Western Equatoria State (WES).

Recently, the USSP Party Leader, Clement Mbugoniwia, held a joint meeting between USSP and UNMIS in Yambio, the capital of WES. In that meeting, he addressed post-referendum issues and concerns, such as the involvement of all political parties, civil societies and other interest bodies in the technical review process of the current Interim Constitution of Southern Sudan, which is being facilitated under the auspices of the SPLM-led Government of Southern Sudan (GOSS).
He called upon UNMIS and the international community to play an advisory role, especially in order that the SPLM-led GOSS honour the agreement reached during the “All South Sudanese political parties’ conference” in October 2010. He pointed out that lessons should be learned from the consequences of discrimination, which directly led to over 3 million lives being lost during the civil war and more than 2 million people being displaced. He told UNMIS that this time nobody should be discriminated against or sidelined. All South Sudanese are stakeholders and will not accept any form of discrimination by any party or government.

Mr Mbugoniwia went further to explain the USSP vision of unity of all South Sudanese citizens (as enshrined in the name of the Party) and the way forward, starting with the constitutional review process, which must include all political parties, civil societies, churches and other interest groups to discuss about what type of government is ideal for South Sudan, the duration of the transitional period and the formation of a broad-based government encompassing all political formations and the percentages of power sharing in such a government.

UNMIS = United Nations Mission in Sudan

Saturday evening and night marked the beginning of the anticipated celebrations of the [favourable] results of the Southern Sudan Referendum Vote. Counting started immediately after voting officially ended Saturday evening at the same venue, i.e. the Methodist Central Hall opposite the Houses of Parliament at Westminster in London. It was a long and daunting counting process but the Referendum Commission‘s staff and representatives were undeterred and relentless in their efforts—often jovial, too. Several members of South Sudan’s diaspora in the United Kingdom (and many from other European countries) stayed throughout the evening and night to witness first-hand the counting process. Each ballot paper was clearly displayed one at a time for all those present to see before being placed in its designated pile of Secession, Unity, Unmarked or Invalid. This was to satisfy every observer present that the whole process was, indeed, free, fair and transparent. As such, everyone present already knew the result before it was announced, let alone when it would be officially announced Sunday afternoon. Celebrations with cheering, dancing, singing and ululations continued throughout the night until about 2 a.m. Of the 653 registrants 640 cast their votes and 626 (i.e. 97.8 % or 98 %) voted for the secession of Southern Sudan from Sudan.

Sunday afternoon saw Methodist Central Hall yet filling to the brim when a much larger crowd gathered for the official announcement of the results by officials of the Southern Sudan Referendum Commission. Due credits were bestowed upon all who worked hard and diligently to facilitate the successful completion of the process. Dignitaries present gave speeches, including USSP’s Spokesman, Mr Elhag Stanley-Paul, who gave a speech that moved and touched a chord with the audience, dignitaries and other party officials [see graphic and attached copy of speech]. Afterwards celebrations continued throughout the afternoon into early evening until the Hall was closed.

You may download here a PDF copy of the speech.