Kiir fires finance minister, Nilepet and National Revenue Authority bosses

JUBA – South Sudan’s president, Salva Kiir Mayardit, has on Tuesday fired the country’s finance minister, Salvatore Garang Mabiordit, acting National Revenue Authority (NRA) Commissioner-General Erjok Bullen Geu, and Nilepet director Dr. Chol Deng, according to a decree read out on the state-owned SSBC.

In separate decrees, the South Sudanese head of state appointed Athian Diing Athian as the country’s new finance minister and Africano Mande as Deputy Commissioner-General of the National Revenue Authority pending his recruitment as the head of the tax body.

Bol Riing Mourwel was appointed as the new director of the state-owned oil company Nilepet.

Athian was the country’s deputy finance minister and served until July 27 went he was fired by the President to be replaced by Goc Makuac.

The decree did not state why the three were dismissed.

However, an economic crisis committee formed by President Salva Kiir in August recommended that reforms are made  within the country’s financial systems after the central bank announced that it ran out of foreign exchange reserve.

The country is in a mid of an alarming economic crisis with government officials including the now ex-finance minister announcing at some points that the country cannot control the foreign currency prices at the parallel market.

$1 is traded between SSP 490 and SSP 500 at the parallel market as of this afternoon in Juba.

Public servants have entered the fifth month without salaries with trade minister Kuol Athian saying this week that the country could not afford to pay workers due to corruption, COVID-19 effects and decline of oil prices at the international market.