VP Salva Kiir denies approval of dismissal of SK finance minister; appoints high level committee of investigation

By Nanne op 't Ende

Oct 26, 2008

First Vice President of Sudan Salva Kiir issued a statement denying he would have approved the dismissal of South Kordofan Minister of Finance (SPLM) by South Kordofan Governor Omer Suleiman (NCP).

According to an SPLM spokesman in The Netherlands Salva Kiir did receive a request from Governor Suleiman, but he had responded by referring the matter to South Kordofan Deputy Governor Daniel Kodi.

Governor Omer Suleiman sacked Finance Minister Dr Ahmed Saeed without consulting Deputy Governor Kodi, saying the dismissal was approved by Kiir.

The SPM Nuba considered the action an attempt by the NCP Governor to create a division between them and the SPLM in South Sudan. They insisted that the dismissal was unacceptable.

There have been talks between NCP and SPLM in South Kordofan but untill now the matter has not been resolved, causing tensions in the state.

In his recent statement the Vice President stressed the need to keep the peace; build confidence and solve any concerns between the partners according to the spirit of the Naivasha Agreement.

VP Salva Kiir clearly states the dismissal of Dr. Ahmed took place against his wish and against his advice. He had referred the matter to the SPLM Chairman in South Kordofan, Deputy Govenor Daniel Kodi. According to Kiir, Finance Minister Dr. Ahmed is officially still in function.

A high level committee of investigation is soon to travel to South Kordofan to meet with Governor Suleiman and other NCP leaders to discuss the position of the Finance Minister and other pressing issues.

Members of the committee are said to include Pagan Amum, Abdelaziz Adam Alhilu, Yasir Saeed Arman, Edward Lino and members from the SPLM political Bureau in Nuba Mountains.

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