Government approves appointment of 140 permanent DGs

The Sudani government has begun to remedy the issue of senior appointments that are working in an acting capacity. Over the past two weeks, the Council of Ministers voted to approve the permanent appointment of 140 directors general as part of an ongoing effort to comply with legal obligations.

On December 20, cabinet approved the permanent appointment of 41 DGs who had been hired in an acting capacity. Then on January 2, it approved a further 99 DGs.

The issue of acting DGs has been a long-running point of contention between the executive and legislative branches. The Sudani government has been under pressure to resolve the issue following parliament’s insertion of a provision in the 2023-25 budget law (Article 71) that mandates the government to submit the names of all senior officials in an acting position to parliament for its approval before November 30, 2023.

The government had appealed against the provision last summer but the Supreme Court upheld it. Then in December, a second request by the Sudani government led to the Supreme Court issuing a temporary injunction that allows senior government officials working in an acting capacity to maintain their authorities until a final judicial verdict can be issued.

The key issue of legal contention is whether DGs can be permanently appointed through cabinet decree, or whether they require parliamentary approval.

The government has not released any figures on how many DGs are working in an acting capacity. The 2023-25 federal budget states that there are over 5,300 permanent and acting DGs in total.