FILE PHOTO: Jema Nunu Kumba, the Speaker of the R-TNLA at the 5th governors' forum in Juba - credit | Office of the First Vice President | Nov. 26, 2021

Members of Parliament have expressed anger at some Ministers who failed to honour invitations to the House to answer questions on the security situation, the Speaker of Parliament has said.

Four Ministers of Defense, National Security, Foreign Affairs, Presidential Affairs, the Governor of Central Equatoria State, and Members of the Border Committee failed to appear before parliament to answer questions on Tuesday, October 10.

On Tuesday, lawmakers summoned ministers including; Angelina Teny the Minister of Interior, Chol Thon the Minister of Defense and Veterans Affairs, and Obuti Mamor, the Minister of National Security.

Others are the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Ambassador, James Pitia Morgan, Minister of Presidential Affairs Dr. Barnaba Marial Benjamin who is also a member of the Border Committee and the Governor of the Central Equatoria state Emmanuel Adil Anthony.

The officials were to account for the increasing cases of child abductions, brutal killings across the country, and border tensions in Kajo-Keji County along the South Sudan-Uganda border.

However, only the Minister of Interior Angelina Teny, Jonglei State Governor, and Pibor Chief Administrator appeared before the August House on Tuesday.

Presidential Affairs Minister and Central Equatoria State reportedly wrote a letter stating they had a busy schedule.

Reacting to the absence of the officials, Speaker Jemma Nunu Kumba says the August house was not happy about the failure of the ministers to turn up for questioning.

Right Honorable Nunu says the accused officials will have to give proper reason for not showing up in the next session.

She has advised the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs to address the issues of summoned officials refusing to appear before the August House.

“We need to remind you [Parliamentary Minister] that you should remind the ministers that when they are called to come to the parliament, they should come, and we are not joking here,” Hon Nunu said.

“We are talking about the lives of people and there must be a serious reason why they are not here, in fact, we need an explanation,” she said.

“We have received one notification from the minister of presidential affairs who took permission because he was sent to another assignment.”

“The rest [ministers] we need an explanation because we cannot come here and seat and cancel every agenda that we have put in the order of the day without any proper reason.”

“Please inform the ministers that the house is not happy about this failure of relevant ministers to come and next time they need to give us proper reason why they are not able to come because this is not the first time.”

In her response, the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Mary Nawai Martin says it is an obligation of the ministers to appear before the parliament whenever they are summoned.

“It’s very important to mention that when the member of the executive is summoned, it’s an obligation that they should appear before this house because it’s the interaction with the members of parliament,” Hon. Nawai said.

“After all, they represent the people of the Republic of South Sudan,” she said.

“You must come as an executive to share with them on the summon that you’re summoned to present the issues in your state or your ministry.”

The mandate of the Transitional National Legislative Assembly is to exercise the functions of overseeing the performance of the national government institutions

Others are approving plans, programs, and policies of the National Government, approving budgets, and summoning Ministers to answer questions from members of the Assembly on matters related to their ministries.