A number of parliamentarians on Tuesday demanded the suspension of Western Equatoria Governor Alfred Futuyo to facilitate investigations into allegations of corruption in his state.
In October, the national legislative assembly summoned Governor Alfred Futuyo, a member of the SPLM-IO, to answer questions over non-payment of salaries and arrears for civil servants in the defunct states of Amadi and Mundri. However, Governor Futuyo, in his response to the MPs, denied any wrongdoing, saying the National Ministry of Finance did not release the money.
The assembly then dispersed an ad hoc committee of seven members headed by Goc Makuac Mayol to Western Equatoria State to collect more information before action could be taken.
While presenting the ad hoc report before the parliament on Tuesday, Mayol accused Governor Futuyo of failing to cooperate with the investigation committee.
According to Goc, the committee gathered enough information from the National Ministry of Finance and found that money was being transferred to Western Equatoria State specifically for the defunct states, which Futuyo denied while in Juba.
“Before arrival to Yambio, the committee was in continuous consultation with Western Equatoria state coordination office in Juba and the secretary general in the state to make sure they are much aware of our visit in the state,” Goc said.
“The committee arrived in Yambio as planned, but upon arrival to Yambio, the committee learned that the governor had sent the Ministers of Finance and Local Government to Juba even though the committee had informed the state authorities of its visit to the state,” he added.
Goc described the governor’s behaviour as contempt of parliament, saying the governor blocked them deliberately from gathering information about the corruption allegations. The committee chairperson recommended the immediate suspension of the governor to facilitate investigations into corruption allegations in the state.
George Andrea, an SPLM lawmaker representing Western Equatoria state, called for immediate suspension of the governor pending investigations. Andrea appealed to the lawmakers not to defend corruption in the name of party affiliation.
“We should not say this an SPLM IO, SPLM or SSOA. If there is something bad, we have to talk about it. Honorable Speaker, I would like to say that the resolutions are clear, especially that the governor must be suspended,” he said.
Zachariah Matur, another SPLM MP representing Lake State, said the governor’s failure to cooperate during the investigation indicates that he gave false information while in Juba.
“Madam Speaker, I want to say that the governor deliberately refused to cooperate because he gave us false information. He could not confirm what he told us here in Juba. Therefore, this governor must be suspended to allow investigations on his malpractices in his state,” he said.
However, Nathaniel Oyet, the first deputy speaker and deputy chairperson of the SPLM IO, refuted the question of no cooperation. According to Oyet, Futuyo’s willingness to conduct meetings with the committee had shown cooperation.
The first deputy speaker recommended that the Auditor General be sent to Western Equatoria to audit the total funds transferred to the state.
“We cannot determine here that the governor had taken too much or less. But we can rely on the report that the auditor general can produce by indicating the funds transferred from 2020 to date. And this is a very good recommendation,” he said.
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