The mandate for South Sudan’s National Constitutional Review Commission (NCRC) is set to expire at the end of this year, but a working draft of the document is still not finished.

NCRC Chairperson Akolda Man Tier told a news conference Thursday that they were unable to complete their work after funding partners, including the US Agency for International Development pulled out after last year’s conflict started.

“In the absence of financial assistance from the funding agencies, it is unlikely that the government of South Sudan can alone undertake civic education,” he said, according to Radio Miraya.

The conflict also forced a halt to ongoing civic education activities.

“These seminars and workshops are intended to collect views from the ordinary people of South Sudan about what kind of constitution they want for South Sudan,” he said. “In a country where the vast majority of people cannot read and write, the only alternative is really through face-to-face with people through seminars and workshops.”

The NCRC was meant to have handed over a draft constitution to the government by Dec. 31. It is unclear what will happen to the review process when its mandate expires.

Photo: Prof. Akolda M. Tier, the chairman of the NCRC