Alex Bullen
Africa-Press – South-Sudan. President Salva Kiir was angered after the Minister of Petroleum, Puot Kang Chol, failed to turn up at the inauguration of the new NilePet headquarters in Juba on Saturday.
Speaking during the launch, the Head of State, who was in a high spirit, was surprised to learn that the minister had not attended such a high-profile occasion that landed squarely on his docket.
“I have not seen the minister of petroleum (Puot Kang Chol), and this question should be answered by the managing director (MD). Where is the minister?” President Kiir questioned, to which the MD did not respond immediately.
“Such incidents should never occur,” President Kiir continued.
The president’s remark left an unanswered question not only about the whereabouts of Mr Puot Kang but also about whether he was not invited to the event or not.
However, on Friday, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Opposition (SPLM-IO), which is the minister’s sponsor party, accused the president of trimming the minister’s mandates through his republican order.
In February 2024, President Kiir issued an order reassigning the mandates of the minister of petroleum, the undersecretary, and the director-general to the same docket.
The Head of State directed the undersecretary under the Ministry of Petroleum to ensure the effective use of the ministry’s budgeted resources and to approve the joint operating companies’ budgets.
“The order has taken away the ministry from the SPLM-IO, abrogating the agreement. In light of the above, the SPLM-IO political bureau rejected the order and called upon the president to uphold the constitution,” the party’s deputy chairman, Oyet Nathaniel, said.
The order also granted the undersecretary the responsibility to “coordinate and handle communication between the Ministry of Petroleum and the oil and gas operating companies and ensure timely feedback to the operating companies.”
Source: The City Review South Sudan
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