President Kiir sacks Petroleum Undersecretary after a week in office
Salva Kiir has become known for abrupt personnel changes, often issued on Monday or Wednesday evenings and rarely explained.
President Salva Kiir has dismissed South Sudan's Petroleum Undersecretary, Dr Chol Deng Thon Abel, barely a week after his appointment - one of the briefest tenures in the country's bureaucratic history.
A decree read on state television on Monday reassigned Dr Chol to the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation as technical adviser and restored Deng Lual to his former post.
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No explanation was offered.
The reshuffle highlights the volatility surrounding South Sudan's oil sector, the country's economic lifeline.
Dr Chol, a petroleum engineer and former head of the state-owned Nile Petroleum Corporation (NILEPET), had previously championed local capacity-building and transparency.
Under his watch, NILEPET sought to take over operations of Blocks 3 and 7 by 2027 and tendered 14 new oil blocks to lure investors.
His tenure at NILEPET, as reported by Sudan Post, was, however, dogged by allegations of financial impropriety that were never proven but widely discussed in Juba's political circles.
The Petroleum Ministry has, meanwhile, seen near-constant turnover amid factional struggles within the transitional government.
Kiir has also become known for abrupt personnel changes, often issued on Monday or Wednesday evenings, rarely explained, and sometimes reversed within days.
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