Africa-Press – South-Sudan. The national army command has announced that South Sudan will have another muted celebration of the founding of SPLA now SSPDF, due to the current economic hardships and competing priorities.
In a press conference on Wednesday, South Sudan People Defense Forces spokesperson said there’s no official celebrations of the 41st Anniversary of SPLA Day.
Major General Lul Ruai Koang acknowledged that it is important to hold celebrations for the national day, but he added that it is only possible when the country is financially stable.
“I think we have not been celebrating in recent years for the same reason, that the economy is in distress,” he said.
The SPLA Day is a national public holiday that commemorates the foundation of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army on May 16th, 1983.
On this day, South Sudanese remember the contributions of the heroes and heroines who fought to bring about the country’s independence.
General Lul said preparations for the event requires a huge budget which cannot be afforded with the economic situation caused by a sharp decline in oil revenue.
“Holding celebrations countrywide requires a huge budget. And therefore bearing in mind that we have competing priorities. We say yes it is good to celebrate when we have in plenty.”
“But when you have scarcity, then it is wise to reserve that for most compressing issues. This is the reason why we are not celebrating and we have been saying this.”
In 2019, some members of the public were angered after the government postponed celebrations of the SPLA Day terming it a disrespect to those who died liberating the country.
The Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) was founded as a rebel movement on May 16th, 1983, and led by its Commander-in-Chief John Garang de Mabior.
After South Sudan gained its independence in 2011, the SPLA became the army of the new country.
It was then renamed as the South Sudan People’s Defense Force in 2018, partly because the SPLA has splintered into so many acronyms over the years that is hard to keep track of who is fighting who.
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