Speaker, the real contentious issues between the north and the south include the determination of the border between the two.
Of course, there is also the challenge that the Comprehensive Peace Agreement makes provision for the establishment of one central bank. However, at the moment there's a conflict between the north and the south around this very matter, because the north follows the Islamic banking system, whereas the south follows the normal banking system that allows for interest to be charged and so on.
They have not agreed on how to address this difference by establishing one central bank with perhaps two systems: One system accommodating profit- making and the charging of interest and the other system servicing mainly Islamic investors. So that is one of the problems.
A census has been conducted which is used for demarcating the constituencies. But this census has been rejected by the south, which may mean that the elections that are planned for next year will be affected by the failure to resolve this difference.
The very fact that there has been a census conducted which is then used for demarcating the constituencies, but is rejected by the south, may mean that the elections that are planned for next year will be affected by failure to resolve this difference. Those are the contentious issues.
The matter of the charges against President al-Bashir is a matter that the Committee of the Wise, of the AU, is attending to. The AU has taken a stance that there should be a stay of prosecution to allow for the culprits to be brought to book and also for peace and stability to be attained without allowing for impunity. Thank you.