VZCZCXRO3275
PP RUEHROV
DE RUEHKH #2227 2571420
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 141420Z SEP 06
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4550
INFO RUCNIAD/IGAD COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS KHARTOUM 002227 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: PGOV KCOR SU
SUBJECT:  Juba: Laws Needed So Legislature Puts Off Anti-Corruption 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary.  On September 6, the second session of the 
Southern Sudan Legislative Assembly (SSLA) opened with speeches by 
Speaker James Wani Igga and Government of Southern Sudan President 
Salva Kiir.  While Kiir's speech officially kicked off the 200-day 
plan (septel), James Wani Igga focused more on the legislative 
agenda.  The SSLA will now work to pass over 20 key laws, covering 
investment, business, civil service, the penal code, corruption, 
land tenure, and much more.  The assembly will also call each 
minister to explain his policies and actions, with one minister 
called each week.  Igga is expected to use procedural rules, 
however, to block any discussions on corruption.  End Summary. 
 
----------------------------------- 
Speaker Wants for Action, Hard Work 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (U) During his speech, Igga called on the members to work 
diligently to pass urgently needed laws.  Because no legislation was 
passed on the previous session, which focused on Kiir's policy 
statement and the budget, Southern Sudan is currently without any 
enforceable laws.  Igga explained that, for example, the proposed 
land law could resolve the current dispute over control of Juba 
between the state and federal government (septel).  Many lawmakers 
believe they will have to work overtime and extend their three-month 
session in order to make it through the thousands of pages of laws 
that the government has proposed. 
 
¶3.  (U) During his speech, the speaker also congratulated his 
colleagues for their work in the first session, including their 
primary accomplishment of raising the military's budget to 40 
percent of expenditures.  He said this was a just reward for the 
sacrifices the SPLA made during the war.  Igga also applauded the 
efforts of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) talks to bring peace, 
and called on the SPLM to find a way to resolve the impasse between 
Khartoum and the international community over Darfur. 
 
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Anti-Corruption Again Takes A Back Seat 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Several members of the SSLA privately complained to 
Consulate General (CG) officials that Igga would again stop any 
frank discussion on corruption from reaching the assembly's floor. 
Several MPs believe that the previous session ended abruptly in 
order to silence any criticism of the SPLM leaders and head off any 
investigation into corrupt practices.  They fear that Igga will use 
a procedural rule, that motions submitted by the government take 
precedence over ones from the floor, to continue to cut off debate. 
When PolOff asked Igga about addressing corruption in the SSLA, Igga 
responded that while anti-corruption is a very important activity, 
the passing of laws must take priority if Southern Sudan is to 
develop.  Igga also mentioned that GoSS motions are required to be 
discussed first, and that this would easily take up all the time of 
the assembly. 
 
¶5.  (U) Note:  Previous reporting indicated that the session that 
opened in April 2006 was the second session.  The SSLA has now 
decided to begin numbering from the April session, rather than the 
brief, earlier pre-session.  End Note. 
 
POWERS