Breaking News: Awut Deng Acuil, the minister of labor, resigns from Kiir’s government
5 min readWhy the Minister of Labour and Public Service resigned from South Sudan cabinet
| Written by Mading Ngor, The New Sudan Vision (NSV),newsudanvision.com |
| Monday, 31 October 2011 16:07 |
 Minister of Labour and Public Service, Mrs. Awut Deng Acuil, resigned over the weekend upon rejection of her civil service reform agenda by the cabinet..
(Juba South Sudan NSV) – The issues surrounding the unexpected resignation of Awut Deng Acuil, the former Minister of Labour and Public Service from the first cabinet of South Sudan have been scanty. Although NewSudanVision.com hasn’t read Mrs. Awut’s reasons for quitting, accounts from two cabinet ministers, some MPs, and others familiar with the story, are offering us a rare glimpse into why she opted to submit her resignation. An acrimonious debate ensued at last Friday’s Council of Ministers concerning Minister Awut’s proposal for retrenchment in civil service, one of the sources told The New Sudan Vision Monday on condition of anonymity. Mrs. Awut was campaigning for far-reaching reforms in the civil service to scale down the bloated workforce. She proposed to replace those serving in the civil service without certificates, diplomas, degrees, or PHDs, with workers with credentials. This process was to affect those employees who served in the SPLM/SPLA during the liberation struggle, under the banner of Civil Authority for New Sudan (CANS). In 2005, an exemption was passed to exclude this group of “liberators” from any future reform. |
Read the full report from New Sudan Vision website below
Breaking: South Sudan’s Minister of Labour and Public Service resigns
| Written by The New Sudan Vision (NSV),newsudanvision.com |
| Sunday, 30 October 2011 11:36 |
 Awut Deng Acuil, the outgoing Minister of Labour and Public Service has reportedly tendered in her resignation on Thursday, allegedly due to crisis in public service reform. (Juba South Sudan NSV) – It has come to the attention of The New Sudan Vision that the Minister of Labour and Public Service in the Government of the Republic of South Sudan, Awut Deng Acuil, has tendered in her resignation on Thursday. |
Read the whole story at NEW SUDAN VISION WEBSITE
http://newsudanvision.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2476%3Abreaking-south-sudans-minister-of-labour-and-public-service-resigns&catid=1%3Asudan-news-stories&Itemid=6
Confusion over resignation of South Sudan’s public services minister
October 31, 2011 (JUBA) – Awut Deng Acuil, South Sudan’s minister for labour, public service and human resource development, was relieved from her position over the weekend with no clear reason being given by her or the government.
- South Sudan’s minister for labour, public service and human resource development (ST)
Acuil is reported to have resigned from the cabinet days before the state television (SSTV) announced President Salva Kiir’s decree, which relieved the minister from her powerful portfolio, just weeks after she was re-appointed in the Kiir’s post-independence reshuffle.
The presidential decree does not, however, explain why she resigned or when Kiir will appoint her successor.
An official from the public service ministry, who wished to remain anonymous due to the sensitivity of the matter, told Sudan Tribune on Sunday that the minister’s woes mainly stemmed from her recent decision to form a committee that would be tasked with nationwide screening of all civil service employees both at the state and national level.
Acuil’s screening committee, which was to be headed by the minister herself, he added, was reportedly endorsed by president Kiir as was scheduled to begin immediately.
“We all knew that the decision to form such a committee would rub many people the wrong way. There are scores of people in public service who lack qualifications and removing them will not be an easy task,” said the official.
A similar project in Unity state established by governor Taban Deng Gai, was met with considerable resistance.
Acuil’s committee, consisting of three people, was to be headed by the ministers for labour, public service and human resource development.
“The whole concept of public service reforms was bound to face challenges once the implementation process got underway. Not many people have properly comprehended the policy,” the official further noted.
The outgoing minister, recently came to prominence when a former governor of Warrap state alleged that Acuil had threatened his life during a political power struggle.
Lewis Anei Madut, now an advisor in the country’s ministry of culture and heritage alleges that there is “deliberate attempt” by the former labour and public service minister to politically destroy him. Acuil, however, denies the accusation and instead says Madut, whom she defeated in last year’s election simply had a grudge against her.
A renowned gender activist, Acuil, an MP for Warrap’s Tonj county, holds a BA in international relations from the United States International University in Nairobi, Kenya. She was also a co-founding member of the Kenya-based Sudanese Women Association.
In 2002, she was awarded the prestigious Inter Action’s 2002 Humanitarian Award; an accolade annually given to an individual who has demonstrated “extraordinary” leadership in support of non-governmental organizations and the people they serve in the developing world.
Five years later, Acuil and Margaret Alva, an Indian national both received the Vital Voices Global Leadership Award for their humanitarian work.
(ST)
http://www.sudantribune.com/Confusion-over-resignation-of,40584
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