Decision to sack SPLM driver sparks outcry in Wulu
December 1, 2014 (RUMBEK) – The commissioner of Lakes state’s Wulu county, Benjamin Akol Muorwel, has dismissed a long-serving driver for the ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM).
Angelo Taban Musa, driver employed since 2007 at the SPLM office in Wulu County, was dismissed on 21 November under provisional order number five.
The decision has been widely criticised by SPLM members and lawmakers, who accuse Muorwel of overstepping his powers.
According to lawmakers, under the state constitution provisional orders can only be invoked by the governor and that the commissioner’s decision is therefore unlawful.
Wulu county MP Taban Manyiel claimed Muorwel had wrongly quoted the state constitution, adding the commissioner could face further action from lawmakers and the governor for misinterpreting the state constitution for his own personal interest.
Although Musa denies having any personal problems with the commissioner, he suspects he was removed to vacate the position for a person of Muorwel’s choosing.
His suspected commissioner have his personal person to employe but not vacant to accommodate that person which his believed to have forced commissioner to dismissed him to create the vacant for his person to take new job in the county SPLM office.
“I have no personal problem with commissioner, what I suspected is that [the] commissioner wanted to employ his relative in my position,” he said.
“I have no problem with anybody in the SPLM office since my official assignment in 2007 until today,” he added.
Manyiel maintains that commissioners and ministers have to no powers to make provisional orders and that only the governor has powers to appoint and relieve state employees.
said that Lakes state transitional constitution 2011 under article of provisional powers is invested on Governor and not commissioners or ministers. He justifies reading the order saying that ??Provisional Orders
Under Article 82 the governor may in urgent cases “issue a provisional order having the force of law” when the assembly is not in session.
However, the provisional order must be submitted to the assembly for ratification as soon as it convened. If the order is rejected by the assembly the it lapses without retrospective effect.
(ST)