‘Disappointed’ ministers boycott cabinet meeting

At least ten ministers in Western Equatoria State have boycotted a cabinet meeting yesterday just a day after they petitioned Governor Alfred Futuyo Karaba.

On Wednesday, the ministers mainly from members of the ruling party SPLM and FDs petitioned the governor for accusing officials of embezzling money meant for delivering services to the citizens. 

Makuku D. J. Sam, WES acting Minister of Information who doubles as Minister of Labor, Public and Human Resource Development, told The City Review that the state cabinet meeting could not continue after those ministers who signed the petition boycotted the meeting.

“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,” Sam said.

 He said the ministers even did not report for work yesterday.

However, Sam said the state was calm and that they were looking for possible solutions to address the matter.

Mr Sam, who is from SPLM/A-IO, also agreed with the other cabinet members who signed the petition, saying the governor’s accusation against the entire cabinet was something that angered almost all the ministers.

He stated that, although it was heartbreaking, he believed it was something that would be solved peacefully as the other minister took it.

The petition letter was addressed to President Salva Kiir.

The ministers signed the petition letter on Wednesday against Futuyo for accusing them of embezzling public funds.

The letter stated that “Your Excellency, we were disappointed by the statement of the Hon. Governor of Western Equatoria State during the commemoration of HIV/AIDS Day yesterday in Yambio. Here, the Hon. Governor brought a baseless allegation of mismanagement of public funds by the state cabinet ministers.”

“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.

“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,” the petition read in part.

“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, ” it added.

In the same letter, the ministers instead accused the governor of not being transparent when it comes to the use of state funds.

The group said he made himself responsible for everything in the state. As such, he could not make the expenditures publicly known to the ministers.

“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,” the statement read in part.

It further added that the missing money was withdrawn by the Governor right from Juba, and as such, it was not reflected in the last transfer to the state account in Yambio.

The Governor has kept for himself secretly the details of local revenue collection, including the personal income tax (PIT) being paid by employees based in the state.

This, according to the group, is a demonstration of the Governor’s lack of interest in transparency and accountability.

The ministers also claimed that the conditional grants meant for the line ministers have been missing all along, and he has been exploding natural resources without transparency and accountability.

The letter added that “the salaries of the defunct states of Amadi, Maridi, and Tambura were not paid for five months, causing public outcry among our civil servants in the counties.”

They also accused Governor Futuyo of defying Vice President Abdelbagi’s order to continue with the construction of shops on the land of Yabongo primary.

“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, Yambio, in accordance with the resolution of the Governors Forum, 2021. Instead, the governor instructed the traders to resume construction of shops on the school land with immediate effect. He went on to say that he is the Governor of the State and that no one else has the authority to call any development in his state into question.

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

The group demanded urgent intervention to address the matter and prevent a further politically harsh environment characterized by dictatorial leadership will be highly appreciated.

The ministers who signed the petition include ministers of parliamentary and legal affairs; culture, youth and sports; agriculture, environment and frosty; animal resources, fisheries and tourism; minister of cooperative and rural development; minister of housing, land and public utilities; minister of health; and minister of general education and instruction.