Warrap parliament writes to governor over constitutional violation
November 12, 2013 (JUBA) – Members of the Warrap State Legislative Assembly in South Sudan have written a letter to governor Nyandeng Malek Deliec, asking her for an explanation for violating the state’s constitution.
Governor Malek in October appointed a new cabinet which was sworn in without approval from the parliament, allegedly as she feared some of the close allies she had appointed would be rejected.
A letter from MPs dated Monday 11 November said: “Governor of Warrap has bypassed the assembly which means violation of the constitutional procedures under article 56 (2) g, article 106 (1) and article 111 (2) respectively of Warrap State Transitional Constitution 2011. Because of this, the house has to write to Governor why she bypassed the constitutional procedures regarding formation and swearing in of the new cabinet before submitting it to the Assembly for approval as required by the constitution.”
The letter did not specify what action the MPs intend to take.
Madot Dut Deng, the speaker of the state parliament told Sudan Tribune on Monday that the house wants to inform the governor of the constitutional requirements but added that he was not intending to summon the governor for explanation.
“There were differences in the beginning but these differences were later dropped and the members came up with one resolution to write to the governor”, Deng told Sudan Tribune from Kuacjok town, the capital of the state on Monday.
The legislator explained that two motions were raised. One was to write to the leadership of the country’s ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) and the other was to summon the governor but both motions were dropped with MPs instead opting to write the governor a letter instead.
MP EXPELLED
Meanwhile, an MP in the Warrap State Legislative Assembly, James Machok Deng, said that he was expelled from the house to prevent him from raising a motion against the governor about the vetting and approval process.
According to Deng, the speaker removed him due to allegations that he had an interest in the motion because he “was one of the members who applied to be appointed into ministerial positions before the government was formed.”
Deng said that an “irrelevant article” of the Warrap state constitution was used to deny him participation in the debate.
“They quoted article 68 of the conduct of business of Warrap State transitional constitution, which is irrelevant to the case. This article talks about personal interest in the motion. I do not have any interest here because I was not questioning appointment of individuals. I was also not talking about areas which were not represented. I was simply saying that constitutional functions of the parliament have been bypassed and so the governor needs to explain”, he said.
PUBLIC RELATIONS
Wek Agoth, a native of Warrap state reacted to the latest political controversy in his home state by suggesting it was time South Sudan’s central government intervened to diffuse the tension between the Warrap executive and the state parliament, which has been ongoing since South Sudan’s independence from Sudan in 2011.
“There is a big problem in Warrap state. There is a political war between the assembly and the executive. This conflict needs to be properly addressed otherwise it will have an impact on the relationship between the people of Warrap and the central government.”
The conflict started with impeachment of the former minister of finance Majok Bol Kur over allegations that he had misappropriated some public funds in 2011 and continued when the assembly attempted to impeach the governor herself.
This dispute over the new cabinet fits into the pattern of not resolving political disagreements, Agoth said.
“Now the assembly says the constitution has been violated and the SPLM had withdrawn confidence from the governor. There are a lot of problems which needs intervention from the central government otherwise it will have big impact on the relations between the people of Warrap State and the central government”, Agoth told Sudan Tribune on Tuesday.
Santino Wek, another native of the Warrap wondered why the governor failed to take her cabinet the state parliament despite it being in the constitution she had pledged to respect when taking her oath of office when she was elected in 2010.
“Governor Nyandeng Malek in 2010 took the gubernatorial oath, swearing to preserve, protect and defend the constitution of Warrap state. I really do not understand why the governor could not take her cabinet to the state assembly for vetting and approval. If it is because of these allegations that she feared that the house would reject some of her close allies, she should have held meetings to lobby the members for backing. Now she has violated the constitution”, he explained.
(ST)