The President of South Sudan, Salva Kiir Mayardit, has confirmed that the Tumaini talks with hold-out groups in Nairobi, Kenya, are not intended to negotiate a new parallel deal or to replace or dismantle the existing Revitalized Peace Agreement.

“Our collective vision, we the signatories to the 2018 peace agreement, is to bridge the gap, to understand the reservations of the hold-out groups, accommodate these reservations within the existing agreement, so that the Tumaini Initiative becomes part of the existing agreement,” stated the President, while opening the 8th annual Governor’s Forum in Juba.

“Any agreement to replace the existing one [Revitalized Peace Agreement] will defeat the principle of inclusivity and will certainly lead to a cycle of conflict.”

The President also said that the decision to restructure the composition of the Government delegation leading the Tumaini talks was informed by the need to “speed up and conclude the negotiation process”.

The Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan, Nicholas Haysom, described the decision by parties to extend the transitional period by two years and delay elections as “regrettable but inevitable” due to a lack of progress on key deliverables in the agreement.

“What is needed now is a clear, realistic, harmonised work plan for the next two years,” he said.  “I, therefore, reiterate our call for the parties to employ a sense of urgency in fulfilling the promises they made to the people of South Sudan. This will require an unwavering spirit of solidarity, bold decision-making, and a clear and actionable implementation plan.”

President Salva Kiir Mayardit explained that the extension of the transitional period was driven by a collective desire to achieve durable peace and encouraged parties to focus their attention on elections in December 2026.

“I remind all those who are interested to contest in the election that 24 months is not a big thing. If you are not prepared, you better start preparing yourselves,” he said.

Mr Haysom said there was a deep desire among the South Sudanese people and its leaders to graduate the country’s status from one of continual conflict to a more forward-looking vision of peacebuilding and resilience.

While the United Nations commends these aspirations, he urged the Governors to collectively commit to tackling the root causes of conflict by delivering basic services to communities through an effective and accountable public financial management system.

“We remain of the view that this pathway has a solid footing in, and provides a platform for, the effective implementation of the peace agreement,” said Mr Haysom. “The alternate pathway is that festering conflict and subnational violence continues to cause tragic loss of life and only worsens humanitarian needs across South Sudan.”

The Governor’s forum provides an important opportunity for high-level engagement between national and state leaders to strengthen understanding of the security and economic situation and improve collaboration in the implementation of the peace agreement.

The meeting comes at a time when the country is confronting significant challenges, including nine million people requiring humanitarian aid, 7.5 million experiencing food insecurity, an influx of 880,000 returnees and refugees fleeing violence in neighbouring Sudan, unprecedented flooding affecting 1.4 million people and the presence of cholera in eight counties.

Given the dire situation, the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, Anita Kiki Gbeho, stressed the need for national and state-level leaders to ensure unimpeded access for aid organizations.

“Access challenges persist, including physical constraints, violence against humanitarian personnel and assets, and checkpoints that slow response efforts,” she said. “Given the needs, we look forward to clear direction to facilitate humanitarian access at all levels, including physical, regulatory, and security measures, that allow humanitarian efforts to have the most impact on people’s lives.”