Kiir appoints new minister of mining replacing Odwar

JUBA – South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir Mayardit has this evening appointed a senior SPLM-IO politician as minister of mining that has been vacant since August this year.

In the decree read out on the state-owned South Sudan Broadcasting Corporation (SSBC) this evening, Kiir appointed Major-General Martin Obocha as the new mining minister replacing Henry Odwar.

The position has been vacant since Odwar resigned in August following the split in the SPLM/SPLA (IO) rank and file after an attempt by General Simon Gatwech Dual, ex-SPLA-IO chief, to remove Machar that month.

Gen. Abucha was the executive director in the office of the First Vice President and it is not yet clear if he had been relieved of that position by Machar.

Abucha is also the SPLA-IO representative to the Ceasefire Transitional Security Arrangement Monitoring and Verification Mechanism (CTSAMVM).

Based on the revitalized peace agreement, the SPLM-IO shall occupy nine ministerial positions including the minister of mining.

In a separate decree, President Salva Kiir Mayardit promoted two diplomats to grade-three ambassadors.

They are Amb. Dr. James Solomon Padiet and Amb. Aker Deng Majok.