John AdoyiSouth Sudanese President Salva Kiir has dismissed Finance Minister, Marial Dongrin Ater, just a year after his appointment.
Ater was replaced by Athian Diing Athian, a former finance minister.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelThe move marks the seventh change of leadership at the Ministry of Finance and Planning since 2020, highlighting the political and economic turbulence that has dogged Africa’s youngest nation.
Athian, who served as finance minister from September 2020 to November 2021, was dismissed during his first tenure for alleged insubordination. He also headed the South Sudan Revenue Authority in 2023 before being removed after only four months.
South Sudan’s economy has been under increasing pressure, with commercial banks reporting severe cash shortages. In July, Central Bank Governor Dr. Addis Ababa Othow said the institution planned to print more South Sudanese pounds to ease the liquidity crunch, even as the International Monetary Fund forecasts a 4.3 percent economic contraction and inflation of nearly 66 percent this year.
Economic analyst Dr. Abraham Maliet Mamer, an adviser to the transitional government’s Economic Cluster, told local radio station Tamazaj that the president’s decision reflects the urgent search for solutions. “The time now is different from when [Athian] was minister before — things were a little bit rosy.
“His return to the ministry is a big challenge, so he has to work harder and move quickly,” Mamer said on Radio Tamazuj.
But civil society leaders warn that repeated reshuffles risk deepening instability. Edmund Yakani, a political observer, said the frequent dismissals undermine reforms. “The regular reshuffling of finance ministers is becoming a factor of economic and financial instability,” he said. “This culture of frequent changes also nurtures corruption and undermines efforts to implement public finance reforms.”
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Yakani added that the shake-up could further delay the passing of the 2025–2026 national budget.
In separate decrees, Kiir also removed Dr. Dhieu Mathok Diing as Minister of Investment, replacing him with former trade minister Joseph Muom Majak, and dismissed Arop Nuoi Arop as First Undersecretary of Finance, reinstating Garang Majak Bol, who previously held the role.
South Sudan, which relies heavily on oil revenues, has struggled to stabilize its public finances since independence in 2011. The revolving door at the finance ministry underscores the difficulty of charting a steady economic path in the face of conflict, corruption, and dwindling state revenues.
