South Sudanese president Kiir forms new cabinet

South Sudanese president Kiir forms new cabinet

2011-08-28 06:33:21 GMT+7 (ICT)

JUBA (BNO NEWS) -- South Sudanese President Salva Kiir Mayardit has announced the first cabinet for his new nation, replacing the caretaker government which has administered the country since its independence last month, the government said on Saturday.

Kiir issued three presidential decrees: one relieving all the caretaker ministers, the other one appointing the new national ministers and the third one appointing the deputy ministers, according to the Sudan Tribune. While forming the new line-up, Kiir said he tried to represent equally the country's different regions to avoid accusations of tribalism and nepotism.

Among the new appointments listed on the government's website are Deng Alor Kuol for cabinet affairs, Nhial Deng Nhial for foreign affairs and international cooperation, Oyay Deng Ajak for national security and Kosti Manibe Ngai for finance and economic planning. Among the ministers who have not come back are former Minister of Peace Pagan Amum Akech and former Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Ann Itto.

South Sudan became the world's newest country when it broke away from Sudan on July 9 as a culmination of a six-year peace process which began in January 2005 with the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) between the Government of Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM).

More than two million people, most of them civilians who died due to starvation and drought, were killed during the 20-year civil war in Sudan. Although there were hopes that South Sudan secession would lead to peace, violence has continued both on a local level in South Sudan as well as with the Sudanese forces.

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