Kiir finally appoints new irrigation minister

JUBA – President Salva Kiir Mayardit on Monday evening issued a presidential decree appointing a minister for the ministry of water resources and irrigation, nearly five months after the newly-appointed official’s predecessor passed away.

In the decree read out on the state-own South Sudan Broadcasting Corporation (SSBC), Kiir named Pal Mai Deng of the main armed opposition Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Opposition (SPLM-IO) as the new minister of water resources and irrigation.

Pal has been a senior member of the opposition group under First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar Teny and it remains unclear when his nomination was done by the Machar-led movement, though officials close to the powerful opposition leader suggest the official’s name might have been submitted to Kiir in late September.

Manawa, a highly-respected politician among South Sudanese, died on June 19 in Cairo, the Egyptian capital, where doctors “tried their best” to rescue him, after being flown into the North African country following heart-related complications that dictated a failed surgery just hours before his demise.

In a statement, the ministry of water resources and irrigation welcomed the minister’s appointment and described the decision by the President to name him into the senior government official position as a “well-deserved” appointment.

“Congratulations to Hon. Pal Mai Deng on his appointment at this evening as a South Sudan’s Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation, effective from today November 7, 2022,” the ministry statement extended to Sudans Post reads in part.

“The Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation welcomes and do hereby acknowledge his well-deserved appointment,” the statement added.