The eleven newly appointed ministers named in a recent cabinet reshuffle in Lakes state took their oath of office on Monday but without the endorsement of the state legislative Assembly, according to the constitution.
The eleven newly appointed ministers named in a recent cabinet reshuffle in Lakes state took their oath of office on Monday but without the endorsement of the state legislative Assembly, according to the constitution.
Addressing the media immediately after the ceremony, the deputy governor Mr. Santo Domic Chol said the names were not taken to the state Parliament for vetting because of logistical challenges in convening the parliament during recess.
“Most of the MPs are on recess and it is really very difficult for us to bring them and of course, the governor tried to bring them from all the corners where they are, but of course, Lakes State as system is faced with some financial crises, so we were not really able to hire the number of flights to bring all the honourable members to the house,” he said.
He said the decision was made to avoid having a leadership vacuum in the state. He added that the governor decided to swear in the members of the new cabinet, but he has written to the speaker of the Assembly, informing him that they were compelled by the circumstances situation to do so.
The speaker of the state Assembly Mr.Baipath Majuec Rielpou told TCT on phone from Rumbek that the swearing in of cabinet without parliament vetting and approval is a violation of the constitution.
“I did not give the go ahead for the swearing in because the vital requirement to vet and approve their appointment has been compromised…The Assembly has been compromised; we have to vet those members of the cabinet that have been appointed. We have to vet them to see whether they are qualified to run the offices,” he said.
He acknowledging receiving the governor’s letter, but said the constitutional mandate to the parliament cannot be overruled by any executive decision the way it happened.
Some critics argue that the governor feared presenting his nominees to parliament because some of them may have failed the vetting, especially those who served in the last cabinet and failed to deliver on their mandates.
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