Kiir sacks revenue authority chief, names replacement

JUBA – South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir Mayardit has dismissed Africano Mande, the Commissioner-General of the South Sudan Revenue Authority (SSRA), in a presidential decree issued on Wednesday night.

The decree, announced on state-run South Sudan Broadcasting Corporation (SSBC), did not provide reasons for Mande’s removal. Simon Akuei Deng was named as his successor.

The shakeup follows a similar decision last week when Kiir removed the SSRA’s deputy commissioner-general, Albino Dak Othow, replacing him with Taban Abel Aguek, a member of the Lakes State parliament.

Mande had been appointed to the top revenue post last year, taking over after serving as the deputy head of the agency.

His appointment followed sweeping leadership changes that also included the dismissal of the central bank governor and the finance minister.

Simon Akuei Deng, the newly appointed SSRA chief, was the Secretary-General of the South Sudan National Chamber of Commerce, Industry, and Agriculture, as well as a member of the board of directors of the National Communications Authority at the time of his appointment.

He has also held positions on the boards of South Sudan’s roads and investment authorities and Ecobank South Sudan.

Akuei holds a degree in information sciences, and a master’s degree in law.