N. Bahr el Ghazal minister denies mulling resignation
September 20, 2014 (JUBA) – A cabinet minister in South Sudan’s border state of Northern Bahr el Ghazal has distanced himself from reports associating him with a group of individual ministers who consider resigning from their positions.
The ministers in question are reportedly unhappy with the poor working relationship that exists between the parliament and caretaker governor Kuel Aguer Kuel,
However, the governor’s press secretary, Angelo Wol Mawien, denied reports that the governor was working to replace some of his cabinet with relatives on the basis of their alleged connection with the former governor, General Paul Malong Awan
In a separate interview on Friday, state MP Garang Majak Bol told Sudan Tribune that the group of individual ministers could not be considered as “diehard supporters” of the former governor.
“General Paul Malong was not a leader of individuals. He was the governor of the whole state and all the good things he did were for the benefit of our people and so it would be unwise to see him in the light of all these achievements as the leader of individuals,” Bol said from Northern Bahr el Ghazal capital Aweil town.
“What these people want to do is to create conflict between our two leaders. They actually said it plainly before,” he added.
Unnamed sources claimed last week that almost half of Northern Bahr el Ghazal state’s ministers were set to resign from the government in coming days, sparking fears of insecurity in the relatively peaceful border region.
However, state authorities subsequently dismissed reports of political differences with the caretaker governor, who was appointed six months ago, and some cabinet ministers.
Mawien has also denied allegations that Kuel planned to remove some officials in favour of his relatives.
Meanwhile, Bol Tong, the state minister for labour, public service and human resources development, said he was surprised by the news that he was one of the ministers threatening to resign his position from the government.
“Anyway, I want to say that I am not a part of these reports which have been published. I cannot resign because I was selected by the leadership of the SPLM (South Sudan’s ruling party) because they saw trust in me and will not resign without the knowledge of the same leadership,” Tong told Sudan Tribune on Friday.
“I respect the leadership of the party. Those who said I am one of those planning to resign did not say the truth,” he added.
(ST)
– N. Bahr el Ghazal denies looming cabinet resignation
– UPDATED: Mass resignation looms in N. Bahr el Ghazal state