The regional Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) has suspended South Sudan over its membership arrears, the government spokesperson said.
South Sudan Information Minister Micheal Makuei Lueth made the remarks on Friday after the weekly Council of Ministers meeting in Juba where the foreign affairs minister Mayiik Ayii Deng appealed for the payment of the dues.
Makuei, however, did not reveal when South Sudan was suspended.
“We have been suspended from IGAD simply because we have not paid our dues,” Makuei said.
He added, “There are so many vacancies which we are supposed to occupy, about 14 of them which are supposed to be our positions. We are unable to occupy them simply because we have not paid our dues for long.”
According to Makuei, the cabinet directed the ministry of finance to pay all arrears owed to IGAD and other organizations three weeks ago, but that directive was not implemented.
The government mouthpiece said the cabinet resolved that the ministers of foreign affairs and that of finance discuss and resolve the matter.
“It was decided that the minister of foreign affairs discuss all this with the new minister of finance so that they can chart out the way forward to pay all the outstanding arrears so that the government or the people of South Sudan can benefit from these positions,” Makuei said.
IGAD helped midwife the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement that brought independence to South Sudan and has continued to play a pivotal role in providing and mobilizing all the necessary political, technical and material support in the quest for peace, stability, and nation-building in South Sudan.
South Sudan joined the IGAD in 2011. Other member states include Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, Somalia, and Uganda.