Jonglei governor to form his new cabinet soon

January 21, 2016 (BOR) – Untill now, the newly appointed Jonglei state governor, Philip Aguer Panyang, has not yet appointed a single person into the state cabinet after the republican decree that dissolved the 10 states governments and created new 28 states since October last year.

Philip Aguer, who was the spokesman for the South Sudan army (SPLA) and later appointed the state governor of new Jonglei state, is struggling to find who could be the right persons to work with him in his government.

The next government to be formed by Aguer would not more than seven cabinet ministers, including the deputy governor, according him when he addressed the rally few days after his arrival in the state capital of Bor.

According to the information Sudan Tribune has just received from the state secretary general, Mawut Guarak, the governor would soon make popular consultations in the state about who should be the right people to be appointed in the state cabinet.

Guarak said appointing the ministers would take a while before having them officially sworn in to offices.

“For the ministers, it will be a process. The governor cannot just sit down in his office and starting appointing people. There are procedures that will involve the state citizens, and political parties, specially the SPLM,” explained Guarak in Bor.

Guarak further explained that the delay is because the governor was to make sure that he identified the most able citizens to be appointed to the ministries.

“Till now, the Jonglei state cabinet has been, and will still remain one man cabinet, for the [next several days] till the end of January as the governor is busy visiting the more [than] fifteen payams in three counties that make up Jonglei state,” said another close observer inside Bor.

He said there is high possibility for the governor to have new faces in his government, as he is determined to work with those who will support him in his plans. A few other old ministers, he added, might be retained based on their previous records.

The governor revealed earlier that ministries would be divided into three counties in the state for political representations, but it was not clear ministries would be allocated to each of the counties so that the communities nominate the people for the positions.

President Kiir’s government has continued to unilaterally implement the 28 states in the country despite rejection by the opposition factions who signed a peace agreement with him last year based on the existing 10 states.

(ST)