The Governor of Upper Nile has contravened the law by breaking up Makal County to form Malakal City Council and preventing the Makal community from celebrating Independence Day in Malakal.
The charge comes from SPLM Secretary General Pagan Amum Okech during his address to members of parliament representing Upper Nile and Collo intellectuals on Thursday in the National AssemblyGovernor Simon Kun Pouch has taken away three payams from Makal County to form Malakal Town City Council.
Mr Amum questioned the legality of Governor Kun’s move to redefine Makal County.
He said only the national Government and the Council of States have the authority to restructure counties in South Sudan.
Mr Amum added that Governor Kun has done no justice to the community of Makal County by preventing them from celebrating the first anniversary of South Sudan in Malakal.
He questioned if as a citizen from Makal County he might need to apply for a visa in order to visit his home town and apply for a license if he wants to celebrate at home.
Mr Amum said he did not approve of attempts to blame the SPLM-DC for the issues from Makal County breakup.
He said this is an issue that crossed political lines and encouraged Collo intellectuals to tackle it.
Mr Amum warned that the SPLM-DC should not be made a scapegoat for the Makal county issue, saying the party members have rights as citizens of South Sudan and some of them are representing the County in the national parliament.