South Sudan’s Deputy Information Commissioner Wol Deng Atak has resigned over “absence of political will and institutional support to ensure the Commission’s independence.”
In a resignation notice addressed to President Salva Kiir, Wol said that he was saddened to be leaving the post but pointed out that he will continue to serve the country even outside of government.
He noted that the Commission does not even have a physical office, but said that it has been working on some issues, including drafting various concept notes, organogram illustrating office structure, etc.
South Sudan’s commission was designed as a way of improving the public’s access to information from the government. However, no information has been released to the press by the commission since its founding.
Although expressing gratitude for the appointment, Wol told the president, “Unfortunately I cannot continue to be in the office.”
File photo: Wol Atak, who headed a newspaper closed down last year and later allowed to reopen, with the then British Ambassador Ian Hughes