Analysis of the First Cabinet of the Republic of South Sudan

By PaanLuel Wel, Washington DC, USA.

The first cabinet of the new Republic of South Sudan is finally out, with 29 national ministers and 27 deputies or assistant ministers, making a total of 56-cabinet members besides the President and his deputy.

The main interesting aspect of this cabinet is the fair distribution of core ministries that were once allegedly preserved exclusively for the Dinka Community. These so called Dinka Ministries are now dispersed as follow: Defense (Nuer), Finance and Economics (Equatoria), Interior (Equatoria), National Intelligence (Shilluk), Justice (Nuer) and only Foreign Affairs has remained with the Dinka. President Salva Kiir should be commended for this feat!!

Of the 31 old ministers and the 29 new cabinet members, 11 have been recycled, 8 retained in their old ministries, 3 demoted, 9 dropped altogether from their ministerial portfolios while 9 are either new faces or those salvaged from the Government of National Unity of the CPA-era.

Among those who have been retained in their old ministries are John Luke Jok (Justice); Michael Makwei Lueth (Parliamentary Affairs); Ms Awut Deng (Labor); Jemma Nunu (Housing); Dr. Marial Benjamin (Information); Paul Mayom Akec (Water & Irrigation); Ms Agnes Lasuba (Gender); and Madut Biar Yel (Telecommunication & Postal Services).

Of those recycled or transferred to different ministries are Nhial Deng Nhial, Deng Alor Kuol, Gen. Oyay Deng Ajak, Kosti Manibe, Garang Diing Akuong, Dr. Michael Milly, Gier Chuang Aluong, Stephen Dhieu Dau, Dr. Cirino Hiteng Ofuho, Ustaz Joseph Ukel Abango and David Deng Athorbei

The three unlucky ministers demoted from their full ministerial or higher positions into deputies or lower ranks are Dr. Majak Agoot (South Sudan National Security); Mary Jarvis Yak (Human Resource Development) and Dr. Priscilla Nyanyang (Minister without Portfolio).

Those unfortunate ministers dropped from their full cabinet positions into the dustbin of GoSS are Pagan Amum (Peace and CPA Implementation); Dr. Luka Monoja (Health); Dr. Ann Itto (Agriculture); Anthony Makana (Roads and Transport); Isaac Awan Maper (Environment); James Kok (Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management); Abdallah Albert (Wildlife Conservation and Tourism); Nyaluk Gatluak (Animal Resources and Fisheries); and Makuac Teny Youk (Youth, Sports and Recreation).

For some like Pagan Amum and Dr. Anne Itto, though, the sun has not yet set on them since they are going back to their respective positions at the prestigious SPLM secretariats and they may never be far from the center of power or the ears of the Big Man. Calling the shot, they still will!

Among the new interesting faces in this new cabinet are John Kong Nyuon, Gen. Alison Magaya, Dr. Betty Achan, Dr. Adwok Nyaba, Afred Lado, Agnes Poni, Emmanuel Lowila and Atem Yaak Atem (Man far away from war) among others.

Below is the detailed summary of the analysis of the new cabinet of the Republic of South Sudan:

(a)   List of National Ministers

(b)   List of Deputy Ministers

Regionally speaking there 10 full ministers and 10 deputies from Greater Bahr el Ghazal; 9 full ministers and 11 deputies from Greater Upper Nile; and 10 full ministers and 6 deputies from Greater Equatoria. In terms of full ministerial portfolios, these translate into 34.5% for Greater Bahr el Ghazal, 31% Greater Upper Nile and 34.5% for Greater Equatoria.

And with Greater Bahr el Ghazal having 33%, Greater Upper Nile 35% and Greater Equatoria 32% of the total population of the Republic of South Sudan according to the last national census, it is inferentially accurate to estimate that Greater Equatoria region has taken the lion share of the full ministerial posts while Greater Upper Nile have been minimally underrepresented.

This, however, is not the case when you consider the combined cabinet numbers—both full ministerial positions as well as the deputies. In that case, Greater Equatoria come up with lesser percentage of her rightful share while both Bahr el Ghazal and Upper Nile take slightly more than what they deserved. This is nevertheless the balancing act to compensate ministerial allocations with assistant ministers.

(C) Summary of the cabinet distribution at the Greater Regional Level

At the states’ level, Jonglei state has 5 national ministers and 5 deputy ministers; Upper Nile state 4 ministers and 3 deputies; Unity state ZERO ministers and 3 deputies; Warrap state 4 ministers and 6 deputies; Western Bahr el Ghazal state 2 ministers and 2 deputies; Northern Bahr el Ghazal state 2 ministers and ZERO deputies; Lakes state 2 ministers and 2 deputies; Western Equatoria state 3 ministers and 1 deputy; Central Equatoria state 5 ministers and 3 deputies and Eastern Equatoria state 2 ministers and 2 deputies.

(d)   Summary of the cabinet distribution at the State Level

These numbers indicate that, on the one hand, Jonglei, Warrap and Central Equatoria states have been allocated more seats in the cabinet relative to other states within their respective Greater Regions, population size notwithstanding. While, on the other hand, Unity and Northern Bahr el Ghazal states have been proportionally marginalized in comparison to other sister states within their respective Greater Regions, notwithstanding the population size.

Is the new government a lean and a broad-based one? Whether or not this was the lean and broad-based government that President Salva Kiir promised the citizens of the Republic of South Sudan is everybody’s guess!! Suffice to say that, of the 56 ministers and deputy ministers appointed, only 4 full ministers and about 5 deputy ministers are non-SPLM members. There is no single SPLM-DC member in the entire new government.

Lastly, gender is another vital aspect of the new government we must analyze, particularly the constitutionally mandated 25% share for women in the national government, cabinet included. Of the 29 full ministers and the 27 deputies, there are 5 full national ministers and 10 deputies that are females. Does that satisfy the 25% women share? You bet! It is 26.79% of the combined appointees!

All in all, although there are some few issues here and there, President Salva Kiir has done a commendable job this time round. He deserves our heartfelt congratulations for not commencing the daunting task of (re)building the new nation on a wrong footing! Congratulations Mr. President and your team for the new and first government of the Republic of South Sudan!

Lastly, I would like to thank Mr. Gordon Buay (Canada) and Mr. Peter Karlo (USA) for their invaluable assistances in tracking down and identifying the states and regions the cabinet members hail from. Any error or misrepresentation thereof is of my own making, however.

You can reach PaanLuel Wël at paanluel2011@gmail.com (email address), PaanLuel Wel (Facebook page), PaanLuelWel2011 (Twitter account) or through his blog account at: http://paanluelwel2011.wordpress.com//

About Post Author

PaanLuel Wël

administrator

PaanLuel Wël is the founder and editor-in-chief of PaanLuel Wël Media Ltd, a news website that covers news, opinions, analysis, history, culture and literature of South Sudan and the world. Founded in July 2011 by PaanLuel Wël to create a platform for free expression and constructive dialogue, the website features articles from various contributors, including columnists, commentators, poets, authors, activists and academics. PaanLuel Wël believes that media can play a vital role in informing, educating and empowering the people to participate in nation-building and social transformation. He also believes that media can foster a culture of dialogue, tolerance and diversity among different communities and groups, and hopes to inspire and mentor the next generation of South Sudanese writers and journalists.

See author's posts