Sudanese government Monday, announced the official dissolution of Darfur Regional Authority (DRA) and Darfur Peace Office, indicating that the implementation of peace agreement in Darfur region.
The DRA was established in line with the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD), which was signed in July 2011, by the Government of Sudan and former rebel Liberation and Justice Movement, and the Justice and Equality Movement-Dabajo in April 2013.
The regional body had a four-year mandate to implement the framework peace document. However, the DRA term was extended up to July 2016, by a presidential decree in 2015.
The dissolution was announced following a meeting of the High Committee for Peace in Darfur attended by First Vice President, Bakri Hassan Saleh, DRA Chairman, Tijani al-Sissi, DRA member, Bahr Abu Gaurda , the head of Darfur Peace Office, Amin Hassan Omer, and some DRA ministers.
However, the meeting agreed to maintain the High Committee for Peace in Darfur headed by President Omer al Bashir and the International Committee for DDPD Implementation Follow-Up headed by Qatar.
JEM Dabajo political advisor, Nahar Osman Nahar told Sudan Tribune that the meeting decided to dissolve the DRA officially. Nevertheless he added that DRA commissions and funds that didn’t yet finish the implementation of their projects will be continue their activities under a new body to attached to the presidency.
“So, the DRA commissions will be directly supervised by the Presidency of the Republic. As for, the (former) DRA Chairman Tijani al-Sissi, the government will find a solution for his situation later,” said Nahar.
One the fate of DRA staff members, Nahar said they will be financially compensated based on years of service. Also some of them will be incorporated in the civil service in Darfur states and the central government while others will be absorbed in the newly established regional institutions.
“This marks the official end of the DRA, and some of its commissions will continue working most probably for one year,” added Nahar.
For his part, the Chairman of Darfur Peace Office, Amin Hassan Omer, told the media that the meeting concluded to establish a body at the presidency to oversee the DRA five commissions, stressing that the composition of the council of Development and Reconstruction Fund will be reviewed.
The head of DRA was accused in the past of controlling this vital fund and appointing the majority his supporters to its board.
Amin said the meeting discussed the procedures for dissolving DRA in July and attaching DRA Commission to the Presidency of the Republic. He added that the Darfur Peace Office is fully dissolved because it was a coordination body between the DRA and the federal government.
He pointed that the nomad and pastoralists commission will be dissolved and integrated into the Development and Reconstruction Fund.
The state minister at the presidency further said the meeting decided to maintain Darfur Special Criminal Court and resolved to ask the African Union and United Nations to send observers to the court.
The Chairman of DRA, Tijani al-Sissi, on his part reiterated that DRA commissions will continue implementing their projects, pointing that DRA has implemented 85% of DDPD items.
Last April, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs declared the end of DRA after the conduct of Darfur Administrative Referendum.
Darfur Administrative Referendum results indicated that 97.73 % of the voters have called for keeping the current five states, while 2.28% of the voters called for one region in Darfur.
Al-Sissi who is also a Fur tribal dignitary was the only political leader to call for the establishment of a single administration in the western Sudan region.
Sudan Tribune
