South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir has spelt out the reasons for frequently firing finance ministers, saying he is searching for someone who can reboot the struggling economy.

On Thursday, Kiir sacked Finance Minister Wow Daniel Chuang who was just four months into the job, the sixth replacement in the post since 2020.

Awow’s predecessor, Dr. Bak Barnaba Chol Bak, had served in the office for about six months when he was dismissed.

South Sudan’s economy has been under pressure in recent years, with crude oil export revenue having dwindled since a 2013-2018 conflict and, more recently, export disruptions due to war in neighbouring Sudan.

The newly appointed finance minister, Dr Marial Dongrin Ater, inherits a struggling economy with shortages of foreign exchange, a weak local currency, falling oil production, and corruption in the collection of non-oil revenues.

Political analysts and observers have sharply criticized President Kiir through independent media for frequently changing ministers of finance, saying the move contributes to economic meltdown.

Speaking at the swearing-in ceremony of the newly appointed finance minister Marial Dongrin, Kiir revealed the reasons why he frequently changes ministers of finance and said: “I am looking for a solution, this is why I bring somebody today and tomorrow I kick him out and bring another person. It is everything that I have tried.”

“When I succeed in getting the right person, I will hold him firmly and will not let him go. So, I will tell him to continue working,” he added.

The South Sudanese leader admitted that civil servants and soldiers had gone unpaid salaries for nine months, blaming it on the mismanagement of the money collected from non-oil revenues.

“We actually have money. The money from non-oil revenues is enough to pay people and to do everything. So let us believe that you will deliver. I understand that you have been in the National Revenue Authority, and you know how money is being collected from the people,” Kiir said.

“If you can do the job well, we will have no problem at all. Work to collect the money and find a solution by creating a single account because what is happening now is that people have multiple bank accounts, and the money being collected does not come to the government coffers,” he added.

President Salva Kiir clearly instructed the new finance minister to succeed quickly in his duties.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Cabinet Affairs, Martin Elia Lomuro, encouraged the new finance minister to take charge of the situation and find ways to relieve the country from the current economic shock.

“It is a collective responsibility. We will work together to find ideas from this or that corner that will push you to meet the objective. But it is a serious challenge to the president himself,” he said.

“You know how many ministers we have had, nearly seven now and some of them six months, one year, and we need to support the president,” he added.

For his part, Minister Marial expressed gratitude to the president for entrusting him to serve the nation through the Ministry of Finance. He also vowed at his swearing-in ceremony to urgently determine a realistic and viable action to address the pressing economic issues.

Who is the new minister?

Dr Marial Dongrin Ater holds a PhD in Business Administration from the University of Nairobi and served as the deputy commissioner-general of the National Revenue Authority (NRA) for research and planning.

He also chaired the board of directors of Horizon Bank South Sudan.