South Sudan’s First Vice President seeks to woo Kenya

Aside from a trip to Ethiopia on August 5, to participate in an IGAD summit, this is Taban Deng Gai’s first diplomatic mission following his appointment last month.

During a news conference in Nairobi, Gai told journalists that he came to discuss with Kenya’s President Kenyatta how to bolster implementation and support of the peace agreement.

Following clashes in the capital Juba which killed hundreds, Gai says South Sudan’s government has put its house in order and is ready to fully implement the peace agreement.

“The difficulties that we are facing have now been overcome,” he said. “The most important issues in the agreement is reforms. And you cannot realise reforms until you have an operational government […]. The government is operating now.”

Gai accused former First Vice President Riek Machar of stalling the peace deal while in office.

“The months when Dr. Riek Machar was the First Vice President we did not see any progress in the road of implementing this peace. Now we are sending committees and delegations to all the states of South Sudan for peace dissemination,” Gai said.

He said they also discussed Juba’s readiness to meet with IGAD partners to discuss deployment of a regional protection force in the capital Juba, as earlier on agreed by IGAD member states.

The appointment of Gai last month as South Sudan’s First Vice President to replace Machar sparked criticism in South Sudan and beyond. Many observers dub the move a coup and argue that his appointment is illegal and could interrupt the peace process in the war-torn country, which makes him a controversial diplomat for South Sudan to send out on international missions. Gai says however the appointment is legal. 

Asked whether he is willing to relinquish power in the event Machar returns to Juba, Gai said Machar should wait for elections in 2018.

Machar fled the capital following the clashes last month. His absence and the fact that he was a principle signatory on the peace agreement signed a year ago poses a challenge to peace and stability in the volatile country, some observers say.

Gai, accompanied by a delegation of four ministers including the defence and cabinet affairs Ministers, said his discussions with Uhuru also centred on improving the country’s dilapidated economy, which analysts say is on the verge of collapse.

“We have appealed to President Uhuru […]. We have talked to the President and we are going to send a technical team from the economic cluster and Central Bank of South Sudan and see how you Kenyans can support South Sudan,” Gai said.

Amid the current instability, Gai says Juba is seeking for investments in essential areas like installing factories that can produce flour, which is so far imported from neighbouring countries.