South Sudan government says it considers taking “measures" against former diplomats still holding diplomatic passports.
Last month, the foreign ministry in Juba sacked 40 overseas diplomats for not showing up for work, some of them for years.
The ministry in a statement cited South Sudan's Diplomatic and Consular Act of 2011: "Absence from work for consecutive forty-five (45) days without permission, shall be considered a resignation."
Mawien Makol Ariik, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said on Monday that all the diplomats dismissed should return their passports before measures are taken, without specifying the measures.
“Those former diplomats were dismissed because they failed to show up. They were dismissed because of absenteeism,” said Makol.
“When you are dismissed and you are still holding a diplomatic passport, you are requested to surrender that diplomatic passport wherever you are,” he added.
The official further advised diplomats who were dismissed while outside South Sudan to surrender their passports to the nearest embassies while those within were urged to bring it to the ministry.
“If you don’t give that, then there are other procedures that can be taken by the ministry against you which may not be good,” he said.
“So we are asking people to surrender, up to now, those passports. Some have done that, others are still on the way, so we are expecting all of them to do so,” he added.
South Sudan has large oil deposits, but exports have drastically slowed since the country plunged into civil war over five years ago.
President Salva Kiir and opposition leaders failed to form a unity government as stipulated in the peace deal by May 12. The formation of the new government was extended by six months to November.