SPLM ministers of WES boycott cabinet meeting over financial spat with governor

JUBA – All SPLM state ministers in South Sudan’s Western Equatoria state have boycotted a cabinet meeting after accusing Governor Gen. Alfred Futuyo of uttering ‘baseless’ accusations against them over mismanagement of developmental funds.

Last week, Governor Futuyo allegedly accused some senior Western Equatoria state ministers of mismanaging public funds that were meant for development and said the senior government officials were not held to account despite informing authorities in Juba of the financial mismanagement.

But in a petition dated December 9, 2021, ten Western Equatoria state ministers appointed by President Salva Kiir Mayardit on the ticket of the ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) denied the accusations and instead accused the governor of disrespecting Vice-President Hussein Abdelbaggi.

“That statement was completely false and amounts to melting the public against cabinet ministers, which is unlawful and hence unacceptable. We would like to condemn in the strongest possible terms the baseless corruption allegations that he made against us,” they said.

“As responsible people, the Governor’s baseless allegation of corruption against Hon Ministers in his statement yesterday has tarnished our reputable image in front of the public, which is unacceptable,” they added.

The ministers urged President Salva Kiir to send in auditors to investigate as to whether the statement attributed to the governor had a base and instead accused the governor of keeping away government budget from the ministers.

“Based on this baseless allegation against the Hon Ministers, we are calling upon your good office to send auditors to audit the accounts of all the State ministers to find out the truth,” the petition said.

“As state ministers, we have a constitutional right to know the details of the state government’s budget and its expenditures. However, the Hon. Governor has been keeping details of the state government budget secretly since the appointment of the cabinet, which is unlawful,” it added.

They went on to accuse the governor of disrespecting Vice-President Hussein Abdelbaggi saying the governor should be held to account for disrespecting someone who is senior to him in the government.

“Governor publicly defied the order of Vice President Hussein Abdelbagi, who, during his recent visit to Yambio, ordered traders not to continue with the construction of shops on the land of Yabongo primary and secondary schools,” they said.

“As a matter of protocol, the Governor is not above the Vice President. This is disrespect of the highest order,” they added.

Ministers boycott cabinet meeting

The Minister of Labour, Public and Human Resources Development Makuku DJ Sam, who is also the acting minister of information said, according to the City Review, that a cabinet meeting could not be convened as the ministers refused to show up.

“Today we were supposed to have a state council of ministers’ meeting, but we could not because our colleagues who signed the petition letter against the governor didn’t turn up for the meeting,” he said.