Declaring it
a national "disaster," the governor of Lakes State has voiced his
dismay over the delayed clearance of civil servant salaries.
“It has now
been one year, and no salaries, and we don’t know when they will be paid,” Rin
Tueny said at the 8th Governor’s Forum in Juba on Thursday.
“This needs
an immediate solution. It is an emergency. I will not say it is a challenge,
but it is a disaster.”
The Sudanese
civil war, which started in April 2023, has had an impact on the South Sudanese
economy since it caused transportation and oil output stoppage.
As a result,
some civil servants have not received their salaries since November 2023.
Just in Lakes
State, about 13,000 employees have been working without pay for a year.
Tueny
suggested that during the forum, the government must decide how to pay the
salary arrears for the civil servants.
“I want a
fruitful resolution to be made and taken to the states and administrative areas
with clarity to your people, who have been suffering for a very long time
without salaries,” he argued.
Opened by
President Salva Kiir on Tuesday, the forum, themed "Forging Sustainable
Peace: Committed Action in the Extended Republic of South Sudan
Transition," brings together governors, state officials, and international
stakeholders to discuss challenges and strategies for South Sudan’s transition.
Earlier,
activists expressed doubts about the effectiveness of the Governor's Forum,
given the fact that resolutions of the previous forums remain unimplemented.