President Kiir sacks head of national oil company , trade under-secretary

May 26, 2015 (JUBA) – South Sudan president Salva Kiir on Monday issued an order sacking the head of national oil company from his position. According to the order broadcast on the state owned South Sudan Television (SSTV), the president removed Paul Adong, and replaced him with Joseph Cleto Deng Kuol.

Adong was moved to the headquarters of the ministry of petroleum and mining. No explanation was given for the sudden sacking of the long serving top civil servant.

Sources with direct knowledge of the circumstances leading to the presidential action claimed the president was persuaded by the parliamentary debates in which majority of the members directly called for the removal of the head of the central bank, Cornelio Koriom Mayik, head of national oil company, Paul Adong, and the under-secretary of the ministry of trade, Simon Nyang Anei.

Although the president responded to directives by parliament and removed two officials, Adong and Anei, he did not act on their directive to replace the head of Central Bank of South Sudan, Cornelio Koriom Mayik.

The legislators in a heated debate last week criticized the way the officials managed the letter of credit, resulting in the periodic shortage of essential commodities, including fuel and skyrocketing of consumer prices. This is despite government allocating 40 million South Sudanese pounds (SSP) on monthly basis to each institution.

In other appointments, the president named Joseph Lual Acuil, former minister of humanitarian affairs and disaster management as head of national communications authority and Biel Jok Thich, as under-secretary in the ministry of trade.

Thich replaced his predecessor, Simon Nyang Anei, who was fired without new assignment.

(ST)