“Personal differences, not corruption” led to sacking says ex South Sudan humanitarian boss
By Julius N. Uma
June 23, 2012 (JUBA) The former head of South Sudan Relief and Rehabilitation Commission (SSRRC), Duer Tut Duel, has denied his sacking was due to allegations of corruption and insisted his removal was due to “personal differences” with the minister for humanitarian affairs and disaster management, Joseph Lual Acuil.
“What I can tell you is simply that while I was head of the commission, I had personal differences with the minister for humanitarian affairs and disaster management, which resulted into my removal from a position I diligently served,” he added.
South Sudan president, Salva Kiir, in a decree issued on 14 June, relieved Duel from his position as the SSRRC chairperson, replacing him with Peter Lam Both, formerly Upper Nile’s state’s information and broadcasting minister.
In the decree, the President does not give a reason for replacing Duel, who had led the Commission since November 2011.
The former relief boss maintains he recorded remarkable achievements during his tenure, and thanked President Kiir for having entrusted him with the mandate to serve the nation in that capacity.
“Over the years, I have been a long serving member of the SPLM [Sudan People’s Liberation Movement, South Sudan’s ruling party]. By the time I took over as chairperson of SSRRC, there were numerous challenges. For instance, we had over 48,000 South Sudanese who were stranded in Kosti and almost a similar number in other parts of Khartoum. Some even needed to be repatriated from Egypt,” said Duel.
“But I am glad that the day I was relieved of my duties was when IOM [International Organization of Migration] announced it had completed airlifting all [sic] southerners from Sudan. That was an achievement for us,” he added.
The former SSRRC boss also welcomed his successor, and urged him to carry on the worked he had started, as the Commission strives to fulfil its function to coordinate the relief, repatriation, rehabilitation, resettlement and reintegration of returnees.
SSRRC also coordinates reconstruction efforts by the South Sudan government, United Nations and other agencies as well as handling risk reduction management.
The newly appointed SSRRC boss said on Wednesday that he detested corruption, describing it as an “evil practice” and pledged his full commitment to the mandate of the state institution.
“The public funds must be used judiciously to meet the intended purposes. Personal gains should not be allowed to override common interest. When you go out you find that there are children on the street suffering a lot, they need food, they need medicine,” Both said.
The new Commissioner assumes office at a time when the agriculture sector, the mainstay of the economy of the country, is grappling with critical challenges. Erratic and poorly distributed rainfall in the 2011-2012 rainy seasons has resulted in a 70% drop in production, he said, leaving farming communities with insufficient food stocks to accompany them through the dry season.
The UN estimates that at least 4.7 million South Sudanese remain food insecure this year alone, with nearly one million of them at risk of facing severe hunger less than a year since the country attained independence under a 2005 peace deal with Sudan.
(ST)