Major General Akot Deng Akot, the appointed governor of Northern Bahr al Ghazal, has formed a 'salaries verification committee' to search out employees appointed during the 2014/2015 fiscal year and remove them from the payroll.

The head of this committee denies that the initiative is meant as a political purge of appointees of Kuel Aguer Kuel, a predecessor of Major General Akot. Following the formation of this committee, reportedly as many as 400 employees from various government institutions were denied salaries recently.

Employees say they were denied salaries because they were recruited during period of rule of Kuel Aguer, who was later impeached after a falling-out with General Paul Malong.

On Wednesday in Awiel, the chairman of the salaries verification committee and acting chairman for the finance committee in the state assembly Angok Achuol Barjok rejected the idea saying the real reason was that the former ministers of finance and public service had overstepped their authority and employed too many people.

“People were saying that the new governor wanted to kick out some people of Kuel Aguer and wanted to bring his own people, but that is not true,” said Angok, explaining that many appointees had been chosen without vetting by the ministries to which they were appointed and without actual positions available for them.