Africano Mande, deputy commissioner general of the National Revenue Authority | Credit | Courtesy

The newly appointed acting Commissioner General of the National Revenue Authority has pledged to be a disciplined civil servant as he executes his duties.

Africano Mande was appointed last week through a presidential order, replacing Erjok Bullen Geu.

The sacking of Bullen came after the economic crisis management committee recommended firing of some officials of revenue-generating institutions over corruption.

He had just informed the parliament that the country lost almost 40 billion Pounds in the last three months alone.

He was also grilled by a parliamentary committee for illegally heading the NRA, since his acting mandate expired 60 days after assuming office last year.

Speaking during the handover ceremony in Juba On Tuesday, the new NRA boss, Africano Mande, said he would use the National Revenue Act of 2016 to guide his work.

“On the day I was appointed the deputy commissioner general and acting chairman of the National Revenue Authority, I went and looked for the revenue Act of 201,” Mande said at the ceremony.

“And one of the things I noted about it is that, this is not a political office. Therefore, I am going to be a disciplined civil servant.”

Recent reports show that South Sudanese leaders do bad things with impunity.

Several leaders have been accused of embezzlement, but none has been held to account for office abuse.

The first NRA, under the first commissioner general, used to announce monthly collections – a policy Mande’s predecessor ‘killed’.

It’s now not clear if Mande will have the total monthly non-oil revenues made public.

Africano Mande served as an active duty Colonel and later promoted to the rank of a Brigadier General in the SPLA, now called SSPDF, until his appointment as governor of Maridi  state on 24 December 2015.

He lost the position in February after Kiir reverted the country to 10 states.

Mande holds a Master’s Degree in National Security Studies from the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California where he also won the Hans Jones Award for excellence in thesis Research in Special Operations & Irregular Warfare or Security.

He also holds a BA (Hons.) in International Relations from the United States International University – Africa.