By William Madouk
Central Equatoria State Minister of Local Government and Law Enforcement Agencies, Moro Isaac Jenesio said he is handicapped and stripped of his constitutional powers by the state governor.
He said his roles were taken out and reassigned to entrusted state ministers and advisors close to governor, Emmanuel Adil.
Mr. Moro was speaking on the floor of the state Parliament yesterday while answering lawmakers’ queries on insecurity and rampant land grabbing in Juba.
“The law enforcement role has been assigned to and performed by some state advisors to the governor,” claimed Moro.
He alleged that the county security coordinators and a few ministers allied to Governor Adil, including the minister of roads and bridges, Cabinet Affairs, took over his role.
“The administrative role has been assigned to either the minister of cabinet affairs or the deputy secretary general paralyzing the ministry of local government and law enforcement,” he added.
According to Moro matters where the ministry of local government is required, Governor Adil Anthony tasked director generals, bypassing his docket.
“Local government administrative officers are deployed or recalled through the office of the governor, contrary to the Local Government Act 2009,” the minister lamented.
Mr. Moro also cited that commissioners and the Juba City Council mayor are no longer submitting reports directly to him but to the governor.
To him, this has greatly undermined the powers of his ministry and crippled its functions.
Moro explained that he has raised concerns with the governor, speaker, advisors, and his colleague ministers, but nothing seems to change.
“I raised these concerns, including during the council of ministries sitting, but the situation is persistent and does not indicate any improvement.”
By law, commissioners and mayors are supposed to directly send their reports to the minister of local government, but that isn’t the case in Central Equatoria currently, Moro said.
He argued that the roles and mandates of the local government must be respected to pave the way for accountability.
The minister of local government also called on the state leadership to work in the spirit of collegiality and consensus to avoid division among communities as stipulated by the peace deal.
He stressed that the provisions of the central Equatoria state constitution and local government act be fully implemented.
Mr. Moro Isaac Jenesio was appointed minister of local government and law enforcement agencies in the Central Equatoria state transitional unity government of parties as per the revitalized agreement.
He belongs to the South Sudan National Movement for Change (SSNMC), which is a signatory to the R-ARCSS under the umbrella of the South Sudan Opposition Alliance (SSOA).
The SSNMC party, whose minister Moro is currently its leader, also issued a statement signed by its secretary general, Ukele Eddy Gumass, saying they are disturbed and concerned with the continued mistreatment and humiliation of their chairperson.
In the statement seen by this outlet, SSNMC claimed that the successful efforts to help stabilize security and improve the performance of local governance in Central Equatoria State and Juba City have drawn unrealistic hatred towards Moro.
“For the last two years, Hon. Moro Isaac Jenesio has gone through a challenging moment amidst a series of framed charges against him by the Governor, intimidations, and several unwarranted requests for removal through the office of Vice President, H.E. Hussein Abdelbagi Akol,” the statement partly read.
“On several occasions, he suffered restrictions on moving to the counties he supervises, while his role is assigned to some state advisors and ministers, contrary to the Local Government Act 2009,” it added.
The SSNMC party now appeals to the leadership of SSOA to intervene and resolve this victimization of their leader once and for all.
Moro’s party further reiterated their unwavering commitment to the implementation of R-ARCSS 2018 in letter and spirit.
However, in a rebuttal, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) leadership in Central Equatoria State, the party’s interim secretary, Ann Kaku Samson expressed dismay over the SSNMC party statement.
The state SPLM secretary, in her letter, termed the allegations against Governor, Emmanuel Adil, a “blatant accusation,” but failed to clear their party chairman off the claims.
The statement instead emphasized the protection of the image of the state government.
“The CES SPLM secretariat would like to advise the SSNMC leadership to adhere to the requirements of R-ARCSS and to seek guidance outside of social networks, negative campaigns, and the smearing of the image of the CES government by its key officials,” the statement noted.