South Sudan parliament shall never be the same again

Turning point in the vetting process of the appointees of the president in South Sudan National Legislative Assembly

By Joseph Ngere Päciko (MP) and member of the vetting committee

August 12, 2013 – Following the major reshuffle and downsizing of the National Ministries by President Salva Kiir Mayrdit, 20 National Ministers and 12 Deputy Ministers were appointed on 27th July, 31st July and 4th August 2013 respectively. On Monday 5th August 2013, the National Legislative Assembly in its sitting No.28/2013 resolved to appoint a Select Committee to vet the appointees of the president in accordance to Regulations 148 of its Conduct of Business Regulations 2011. The Select Committee composed of 10 members representing SPLM, 1 from each state of the Republic of South Sudan; and 1 member from SANU represent other political parties. The Select committee presented its report to the august House on Tuesday, 7th August 2013 approving all but the Minister of Justice and Deputy Minister of Information and Broadcasting respectively. The committee wanted more information from them.

This time around the vetting committee had a vigorous and rigorous process of vetting the appointees, focusing on receiving and reviewing the Curriculum Vitaes (CVs) of the appointees, interviewing each of them to confirm their CVs and any other relevant information about their previous experiences and performances and ascertaining whether or not the appointees are competent to deliver services to the people of South Sudan. This vetting process is the first of its kind in the Republic of South Sudan, hence; a turning point in the oversight mandate of the parliament.

The vetting process drew mixed reactions from the public. Majority, including the civil society, the UN and diplomatic community in the country applauded the National Assembly for this historic achievement. The parliament is being praised for having assumed its rightful and constitutional responsibility in scrutinizing the executive. Some people however, regard this as obstruction of the powers of the president; they argue that since the president has issued a decree of appointment of the ministers and their deputies, there was no need to vet them. This group of people might be ignorant of the constitutional powers granted to both the president and the parliament in the process of appointing and approving the ministers or just want to disregard the due process of law. Article 112 of the Transitional Constitution of the Republic of South Sudan grant powers to the President of the republic to appoint ministers and deputy ministers, and Article 57 (h) gave powers to the parliament to vet and approve the appointees of the president. To refresh the knowledge of the public; Article 57 (h) says, quote “the National Legislative Assembly shall vet and approve appointments (of the president)”. There is nowhere in the constitution or any other law of this country which says once the president decrees the appointment of the ministers and deputy ministers it cannot be vetted by the parliament.

I mentioned the above because there are people including some of the MPs in the NLA who think that the Select Committee over-stepped its mandate and was involved in witch-hunting by targeting some few individuals among the appointee ministers and deputy ministers. This is particularly in the case of the appointee Minister of Justice, Mr. Telar Ring Deng whose approval was withheld by the Select Committee pending more information from him because of some concerns from the public. There were also attempts to discredit the committee by claiming that it was biased because the chairperson of the committee Hon. Abuk Payiti was not neutral because she is holding grudges with the Minister of Justice because her husband, Dr. Peter Adwok Nyaba was one of the ministers dismissed by the president.

Other theories went on further to suggest that, members of the committee were influenced by some powerful former ministers to make sure that Mr. Telar Deng was not sworn in as Minister of Justice. Some also rumoured that the committee members have been bribed, each have been promised huge amount of money to fail the vetting and approval of Justice Telar Ring Deng.

The select committee chaired by Hon. Abuk Payiti is a neutral and competent committee, whose members are all committed sons and daughters of the republic of South Sudan. The committee was just performing its duties and exercising its mandate in accordance to the law. It is the prerogative of the Select Committee to investigate concerns raised against a candidate and clear them. The term of reference of the Select Committee is the Conduct of Business Regulations, 2011 of the National Legislative Assembly and the Transitional Constitution of the Republic of South Sudan 2011. Regulation 148 of the Conduct of Business Regulation 2011, gave powers to the Speaker and Hon. Members of the august House to appoint a Select Committee. The Committee has in its disposal the powers accorded to it in Article 57 (h) of the Transitional Constitution of the Republic of South Sudan, 2011.

As to the process of vetting, the committee relied heavily on the criteria used by the President to appoint the ministers in accordance to Article 112 (2) and (3) of the Transitional Constitution of the Republic of South Sudan, 2011.

On several occasions, the general public and MPs of the National legislative Assembly have been complaining about non implementation of laws passed by the parliament. It will therefore be unwise, unfortunate and hence unconstitutional for the same group of people to denounce and condemn the Select Committee for having done the right thing. There is no way the Select Committee could ignore its instrument of operation and just approve the appointees of the president without careful scrutiny and especially when there are allegations brought against some of them like in the case of Mr. Telar Deng and Ms. Rachel Nyadak Paul. The Select Committee vetted and approved the rest of the appointees because nobody raised concern or brought any allegation against them, otherwise, some of them would face what befell the two.

The Select Committee was not witch-hunting and will never indulge itself into this. In fact, all the appointees of the President appeared before the Select Committee of Parliament and were interviewed live on TV, hence; the process was very transparent. This is a credit to the parliament. The Select Committee used this vetting process so that each appointee convince the committee members about their credentials and their anticipated policies which they hope to implement once they take up their new positions. Throughout the process, the Chairman of the committee, Hon. Abuk Payiti provided strong leadership and guidance professionally without fear or favour. Therefore, allegation that she was biased is just an attempt to discredit and assassinate her character.

The Select Committee checked the background of each of the appointees against professional responsibility, and especially for the minister of Justice, it was more focused in the area of legal practice that encompasses the duties of the minister of justice to act in professional manner, obey law, avoid conflict of interest and put the interest of the public ahead. The scrutiny was more in detail because this is a person who will head the key ministry of justice with responsibility to make laws for the running of the country. These checks were used by the Select Committee as a means of evaluating qualifications, character and fitness. Law-making is very crucial because it is all about creating systems of rules of conduct to govern society; it must be checked thoroughly and is not witch-hunting. This is where may be some members of the public and some of our colleagues in the parliament think that Mr. Telar Deng was or is being targeted.

Gone are the old days where appointees of the president used to be passed by applause without any scrutiny. It is time to change to confirm to the speech of the president on 9th July 2013 marking the 2nd Anniversary of the Independence of the Republic of South Sudan, quote “for a long time, people have been complaining and asking: why is there no change”. This is the time for change. The men and women who will be appointed by the president from now onwards to public offices must be subjected to thorough and rigorous scrutiny before they assume office.

In conclusion, I would like to say that the National Legislative Assembly will never be the same again. “The hope of a secure and livable world lies with disciplined nonconformists” – Martin Luther King, Jr.

Hon. Joseph Ngere Päciko (MP), represents Western Equatoria State in the NLA on SPLM Party list, a former Deputy Governor in the state and a member of the Parliamentary Select Committee for vetting the Appointees of the president of the Republic of South Sudan, 2013. He can be reached on email address [email protected]