Lakes state speaker boycotts sitting fearing removal
October 19, 2013 (RUMBEK) – Lakes state’s legislative assembly officially tabled a motion on Friday impeaching speaker John Marik Makur.
The motion, which was signed by 35 of 49 MPs, called for Makur’s removal based on allegations of assembly mismanagement, including violation of constitutional process and corruption malpractices, levelled against the incumbent speaker.
Makur is also accused of boycotting Friday’s weekly assembly leadership meeting to formulate the next week’s agenda after receiving notice about the motion to remove him.
“The motion took the right procedures as per the state assembly’s conduct of Business”, said MP Nanga Marik. “It is clear the speaker does not want the assembly to function … because he will be forced to have the motion for his removal tabled in the house, which he does not want” he added.
Nanga claims the speaker had discussed the assembly’s motion with the acting governor and at a council of ministers meeting.
“That is completely unlawful. There is no constitutional provision that allows or calls for the council of ministers to discuss an assembly motion”, he said.
He accused Makur of playing a “deceptive game” with the state executive in a bid to protect his job, saying his actions more than justified the MPs’ motion to have him removed.
According to Nanga, Makur had misled the governor into making wrong decisions and when the assembly sought to act, he went straight to the governor and asked him to close the assembly.
The assembly was only reopened after president Salva Kiir intervened five months later.
Nanga stressed that MPs were doing their best to protect the interests of Lake state citizens, but said they were being undermined at the highest level.
“We are doing everything as their representatives in solidarity with them. We know how life has been hard for our public; we know people in Lakes state are suffering, but our efforts are being hindered by the cunning system in this state”, he said.
“We want to ask the greater public to take a look at state matters independently so as to justify who is doing wrong or right in this state. There is no single state in South Sudan where an assembly motion is tabled as [an] agenda of insecurity by the council of ministers. It is point-blank black propaganda, dirty tricks and useless games that rule the state”, he added.
Nanga said that Makur’s case had been registered at the SPLM secretariat, adding that MPs also plan to formally write to the national secretariat to highlight contentious issues facing Lakes state that they say need to be urgently addressed.
“We hope one time one day, our voices and the voices of all [the] people of Lakes state will be heard. Our move to remove the speaker is overwhelming”, he said.
Makur declined to comment on the matter when contacted by Sudan Tribune.
(ST)