By Baraka John
Civil servants from the former states of Tombura, Maridi and Amadi have reportedly gone five years without salaries following the return of South Sudan to its original ten states.
Western Equatoria State Legislative Assembly Speaker, Ann Tuna Richard, says the affected employees have not yet been integrated into the state’s current government structure since the former states were merged.
Speaking on the matter, Speaker Tuna said the situation has severely affected the welfare and livelihoods of the civil servants, many of whom are senior technical staff with years of experience.
She called for the government to urgently address the issue by integrating the affected civil servants and ensuring they receive their outstanding salaries.
The Speaker warned that keeping experienced government workers out of the payroll for such a long period could undermine the delivery of essential public services across the state.
“Integration of civil servants from the defunct states, since the reverting of the thirty two states to ten states the state government failed to integrate the civil servants from the three defunct states of Tombura, Maridi and Amadi. They have not been paid for over five years. This lack of integration and non-salary payment to those civil servants has impacted negatively on their wellbeing, in which most of the professional are senior technical civil servants”. Tuna stated
The 32-state system was reverted to South Sudan’s original ten states in 2020, bringing Gbudue, Tombura, Maridi and Amadi back under the administration of the current Western Equatoria State.