South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir on Wednesday met Vice President Taban Deng Gai, days after Deng publicly complained he had been unable to meet the president for nearly a year.
In a statement, Kiir’s office said the meeting reviewed progress on key national infrastructure projects and assessed implementation challenges. It was also attended by presidential security adviser Tut Gatluak Manime.
Kiir received a briefing from Deng on ongoing infrastructure developments, with a focus on road construction and bottlenecks affecting implementation, the statement said.
The president stressed that infrastructure is a critical pillar for economic growth, national connectivity and service delivery.
Deng highlighted major road projects, including the Pagak–Maiwut–Mathiang and Paloch corridors, saying feasibility studies were at advanced stages and construction would begin once procedures were completed.
He also outlined planned and ongoing road developments in the Equatoria region, including Juba–Lobonok, Juba–Yei–Kaya and Maridi roads, aimed at improving regional connectivity.
On projects in the Bahr el Ghazal region, Deng said several roads were being implemented by national and partner companies, with further guidance needed for the next phase. Preparations were also underway for additional construction, including the Wau–Raja and Boro Medina roads.
Deng raised the need to revitalise the Agricultural Bank, saying improved access to financing could boost agricultural productivity and help ease inflationary pressures.
Kiir directed the vice president to coordinate closely with relevant institutions to accelerate implementation of key infrastructure projects and address bottlenecks, the statement said.
He also instructed Deng to ensure the Infrastructure Cluster operates more effectively and delivers on its mandate, reaffirming the government’s commitment to development and long-term stability.
The meeting followed remarks by Deng over the weekend in which he said he had been unable to meet Kiir since May 2025, blaming obstruction by officials within the presidency.
“Who among you can believe that the vice-president cannot meet the president?” Deng said on Saturday at a prayer service for victims of the Abiemnhom attack, adding that even travel approvals had been delayed or withheld.
He said a request to travel to his home area in Unity State since the Christmas season had not been approved by the president’s office.
“When we come to gatherings like this, we are blamed, and that is your right, but it is difficult to believe that a vice president cannot meet the president,” Deng said.
The remarks offered a rare public glimpse into dysfunction at the top of South Sudan’s fragile unity government and prompted public discussion.
Deng first became first vice president in 2016 after replacing Riek Machar during a breakdown in the 2015 peace process. He returned as vice president for infrastructure in 2020 under the transitional unity government formed by the 2018 peace deal. He is a member of Kiir’s SPLM party.
Dr. Riek Machar, Kiir’s long-time rival, has been under house arrest for about a year and faces treason charges in a special court in Juba.
South Sudan has five vice presidents under the 2018 agreement, and its political system remains shaped by the unresolved rivalry between Kiir and Machar, who has been suspended from the position of first vice president.