Dr. Bak Barnaba Chol has taken oath as South Sudan’s new finance minister a day after he was appointed in a presidential decree.
President Salva Kiir Mayardit on Friday witnessed the oath of office to the new minister during a brief ceremony in the capital Juba.
Some members of the transitional cabinet, politicians and senior government officials attended the ceremony.
In his remarks after the swearing-in ceremony, Kiir tasked the newly appointed Finance Minister to urgently address the runaway inflation in the country.
The South Sudanese leader, according to the Presidential Press Unit, told the new minister to stay focused on the job and “not to accept intimidations by those people who want to run away with public money”.
President Kiir assured the new minister of his absolute cooperation as he tackles the economic reforms agenda.
For his part, the new minister promised to work to rein on inflation while paying salaries and wages on time. Minister Bak promised a strong response to the country’s economic crisis.
Dr. Bak, an economist by profession, was appointed to the position on Thursday after the sacking of Dier Tong Ngor, who has been at the helm of the finance docket since 2022.
Although the specific rationale behind Tong’s removal remains undisclosed, it coincided with economic challenges, including the devaluation of the local currency, which has consequently resulted in runaway inflation.
Before taking up his new post, Dr. Bak was an adjunct Assistant Professor at the University of Juba, one of the public universities in South Sudan.
He has been teaching advanced managerial finance, financial management, financial markets and entrepreneurship to both MBA and undergraduate students.
Bak holds a Bachelor of Science in economics from the University of Juba, an MBA in International Finance from the University of Buckingham (UK) and a Doctorate in Business Administration with a major in finance from the United States International University in Kenya.
He is also a holder of numerous professional certificates from world-class universities like Columbia University (USA) and Investment Banking Institute in New York, USA.
Dr. Bak is a member of the SPLM Party led by President Salva Kiir.