The Western Bahr-el-Ghazal governor and her deputy expressed their willingness to work together upon arrival to the state from Juba last weekend.
The disagreement between Governor Sarah Cleto who was nominated by the SPLM-IO and her deputy, Angelo Taban Biajo of SPLM-IG emerged when the governor appointed Paulino Saed Uku as the mayor of Wau Municipal Council in March 2021.
The appointment was contested by Taban who blocked the new mayor from taking office.
Deputy Governor Taban accused his boss of making unilateral decisions without consulting him despite the power-sharing stipulated in the revitalized agreement.
Two weeks ago, the governor and her deputy were summoned to Juba by their respective political parties over the matter after the two leaders sunk into deeper political and administrative differences.
Angelo Taban returned to Wau on Sunday while Governor Cleto returned on Wednesday.
While briefing the cabinet ministers upon her arrival from Juba on Wednesday, Governor Cleto said the issue has been completely resolved and that the mayor will take up the office on Friday without any conditions.
“The mayor has to go to office without any condition and the deputies will be appointed and we will sit to see how these appointments will be made and this is according to the agreement and this is what people need to know. I said earlier that I will give one deputy to the SPLM-IG and another to Other Political Parties,” Governor Cleto said.
“We have sat as the citizens of this state and we agreed to open a new page because we have a lot ahead of us. The citizens are suffering, differences just over the town mayor are minor issues and that should not be an obstacle to block our cooperation of working together in the state,” Cleto said.
For his part, deputy governor Angelo Taban said they agreed not to compete.
“We agreed not to compete. We have now closed the page and we have to open a new chapter in the state and the mayor should go to his office and we continue to the issue of appointing deputies,” said Taban.
Meanwhile, Community for Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO) coordinator in Wau, Stephen Robo, described the move as moral responsibility and a good gesture toward the common interest.
“I would like to thank the parties especially the governor and her deputy who listened to voices of the citizens and also their leaders that they have to compromise for the common interest of the state because it is their moral responsibility to make sure that the state is peaceful and they focus on services delivery. This is what the citizens expect from them as per the agreement,” said Robo.