The Western Bahr al Ghazal legislative assembly on Wednesday rejected the new state cabinet named by Governor Rizig Zachariah Hassan, according to the assembly's chairperson of the vetting committee James Kiir.

Kiir told Radio Tamazuj that the assembly decided to refer the new reshuffle back to the governor’s office due to a constitutional error in the appointment.

He said the Governor appointed two ministers to the State Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Resources, and Cooperatives, but failed to separate the ministry in two by decree.

“He just appointed two ministers to the agriculture ministry without issuing another decree separating it from cooperative and rural development, so this contravenes the state constitution,” he said.

Kiir said the vetting of the assembly can take place tomorrow if the error is rectified by the governor.

On 19 January, the governor issued a decree appointing eleven state cabinet ministers, including Michael Madut Chan as Minister of Agriculture and Animal Resources and James Ernest Makuei as the Ministry of Trade, Cooperatives, and Rural Development.

File photo: Premise of the Western Bahr al Ghazal Legislative Assembly