Author|Chuol Jany|CRN,JUBA – The East African Community (EAC) has continued consultations with South Sudanese stakeholders on the drafting of a constitution for the proposed EAC Political Confederation, bringing together youth, women, media organizations, business communities, religious groups and other stakeholders.
The consultation, held in Juba, provided an opportunity for South Sudanese to share their views on key issues that will shape the proposed political and governance framework of the Confederation.
Discussions focused on four major areas: the governing structure of the Political Confederation, decision-making mechanisms, principles of governance, and relations between EAC Partner States and the proposed Confederal authority.
Participants made presentations and raised issues concerning how the Confederation should be structured, how decisions should be made, and what principles should guide its institutions and relationship with member states.
The Chairperson of the Constitutional Experts Team and former Chief Justice of Uganda, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Odoki, said the consultations, which began on September 24, provide a platform for stakeholders in South Sudan to contribute directly to the constitutional drafting process.
Odoki said the team has already conducted consultations in other EAC Partner States and will continue gathering views from across the region to ensure that the proposed Constitution reflects the perspectives of citizens and stakeholders.
“The views of the people are important in shaping an inclusive Constitution,” Odoki said, as the experts continued their consultations with different groups in South Sudan.
Stakeholders in South Sudan also called for greater clarity on issues that could directly affect citizens and businesses, including borders, trade, free movement of people and regional integration.
Media representatives, meanwhile, called for greater investment in media capacity, digital infrastructure, civic education and access to information as part of the regional integration process.
They argued that South Sudan should not only consume information produced elsewhere in the region but should also have the capacity to contribute its own perspectives, stories, languages and experiences to the emerging East African public sphere.
The consultations are expected to continue beyond Juba, with the Constitutional Experts Team expected to visit other parts of South Sudan to gather views from grassroots communities and ensure that perspectives from different parts of the country are reflected in the drafting process.
The ongoing consultations form part of the broader EAC process to develop a constitutional framework for the proposed Political Confederation, which is intended to provide a foundation for deeper political and regional integration among EAC Partner States.