Taban Deng Gai, the controversially appointed first vice president in the unity government of South Sudan has accused his former boss and predecessor , Riek Machar, of allegedly running “parallel cabinet while in Juba.
Taban said he knew things were not going to work out well because Machar did not want to be a subordinate to President Salva Kiir with who has signed the peace agreement to end conflict. He was speaking over the weekend at a meeting with the African Union Peace and Security Council delegation in Juba, discussions of which were broadcast by the state owned South Sudan broadcasting corporation.
“The time when Riek was in Juba actually he was a parallel president by the way, Parallel president in a way that he was promoting the generals in the army. He was appointing ambassadors; he was appointing directors of police. He was running a parallel council of Ministers of
12 ministers,” said Taban.
“For example if we have a council of ministers meeting chair by president Salva Kiir, immediately after the meeting he would collect all his 12 ministers to his house to revise and rewind all the things which were agreed.”
He said absent of Riek in Juba can’t endanger the implementation the agreement, stressing that there was no good working relationship between him and the government. “The days when Riek Machar was in Juba, we witnessed strange relationship between him and government,” he said