Cabinet meeting postponed over bad political mood in Juba
July 12, 2013 (JUBA) – South Sudan’s cabinet has postponed its regular weekly meeting due to suspected bad political mood in the presidency.
Journalists from various media outlets always go to the premises of the Council of Ministers every Friday to cover the weekly cabinet meeting, but were informed this time that the meeting had unusually been cancelled.
“It was the second time that the cabinet could not meet. Last month it could not meet on a Friday due to lack of agenda despite the huge challenges the country faces. But this time it was due to political bad mood in the top leadership”, said a senior official close to the presidency.
The official told Sudan Tribune that the cancellation came as a directive from the president Salva Kiir, adding that he could see a visible “bad mood” from the face of the president which probably couldn’t make it possible for him to attend to the meeting.
The official further said the ongoing internal crack within the top leadership over the future of party chairmanship and 2015 presidential elections caused the differences.
The ruling party, that fought a war for decades, has been struggling to transform itself into a vibrant political organization capable of establishing a democratic foundation in the new country and leading it to prosperity.
The SPLM is yet to adopt its basic documents such as the constitution, manifesto, internal regulations and code of conduct, after which it will be registered as a political party in the new republic.
The party is lagging behind the schedule as it was supposed to elect its new leadership since May this year that would carry the torch to 2015 elections.
The vice-president, Riek Machar, also deputy chairman of the SPLM, declared his intention to contest for the party’s chairmanship since March as well as for the 2015 presidential elections.
Machar, who commended president Kiir for successfully leading the region to independence during the six years of the interim period from 2005, however insists there were post-independence challenges of nation-state building that need redress.
He outlined corruption, growing tribalism, weak economy, insecurity, poor international relations and SPLM’s loss of vision and direction as some of the critical drawbacks to the ruling-party’s future.
But Machar’s decision to contest for the party chairmanship has caused friction between him and the president.
In his public statements, Machar said contesting for such a position was healthy and a right of every citizen in South Sudan which should not cause a problem.
The president on the other hand saw it as an unwelcome challenge to his leadership particularly that he wants to contest for a third term in office.
The matter was exacerbated by the recent removal of Unity state governor, Taban Deng Gai, in which the vice-president, who was not consulted by the president prior to the decision, questioned the constitutional legality of his removal.
Machar has already written to Kiir challenging his decision to remove an elected governor.
The internal party debates have also stirred up anger in some leaders and tend to avoid contacts with those they perceive to be in the other camp.
There have been rumours this week that Kiir may take a decision to remove Machar, a rumour which sends fears of possible crisis as the move would be seen as politically motivated and without a justification given the fact that the two have already differed over the party’s transformational process.
Kiir’s anger in response to the letter was visible during the celebrations of the 2nd anniversary of independence on 9th July when he failed to acknowledge the presence of his deputy, yet he acknowledged the presence of Machar’s junior colleagues, such as the two speakers of the national legislature.
The lack of acknowledgement of his deputy was picked by journalists, including those from the UN-sponsored Miraya radio which announced the strange emotional occurrence, expressing self-embarrassment to the leadership that showed its internal differences before the guests of foreign dignitaries, including five heads of states.
The two leaders rarely meet, the official said, adding that President Kiir on Friday morning had to go to his cattle camp in the outskirts of the capital, Juba, near Luri Bridge on the road to Western Equatoria state, while directing for the cancellation of Friday’s regular cabinet meeting.
Machar reportedly called for a meeting with the various ministers and top army and police officials to prepare them for the expected visit of the African Union verification team on the alleged harbouring of the Sudanese rebels from South Kordofan and Blue Nile.
The president’s move was seen to avoid contacts with Machar or other ministers who were also rumoured to be in his list for possible reshuffle.
CITIZENS EXPRESS MIXED REACTIONS:
“The two leaders should stick together. They together led the people of South Sudan to independence. I don’t want to see them quarrelling now. They have been working together tirelessly. They should find a way of resolving their differences”, said David Manyok, a motorbike rider in Juba.
“I thought the [transitional] constitution gives every citizen the right to contest for any position including the position of the president. And I believe the SPLM party has a constitution which stipulates the same right as long as one can meet the requirements per the law,” said Gatluak Wan from Upper Nile state.
The president should not take it personal and allow his mind to be disturbed by mention of contest against his party chairmanship, he added.
“Let the contest happen in a peaceful democratic way.”
A Juba-based trader, who asked to remain anonymous blamed the vice-president for his early expression of interest to challenge Kiir for the presidency.
“He [Machar] should have waited until 2015 when the time comes for elections. How come he wants to challenge a sitting president? he asked.
Another citizen, who only identified himself as Garang said the president was mobbed by “bad” advisers and that it was the main reason why he often took hurried decisions.
“These advisors will continue to lead the president to wrong decisions. I love the president, but he needs to free himself from the people who want him to lead this nation to chaos,” he told Sudan Tribune.
Meanwhile, Daniel Kenyi urged Kiir as the chairman of the ruling party to call for a national convention to elect a new leadership.
“If he [Kiir] wants to contest again, that is fine. But he should also respect the aspirations of others who want to compete against him. I don’t think our president is ready to take an action that may plunge this country into chaos just to protect his leadership”, he said.
(ST)