South Sudanese President Salva Kiir has directed the ministry of finance and that of petroleum to allocate 5,000 barrels of crude oil per day to pay civil servants’ salaries.

The Cash-strapped South Sudanese government is struggling to pay its employees regularly as the country’s dire economic situation worsens and inflation soars.

South Sudan’s economy is almost entirely dependent on exports of oil.

“I am aware that our civil servants are not being paid on time, and they have endured irregular salary payment for a long time. I am also aware that salary scales have not been reviewed since we realigned our currency in 2015, “Kiir said in his address to the nation on the 10th independence anniversary on Friday.

“Today, I am directing the two ministries, the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning and that of Petroleum to dedicate 5,000 barrels of the Nile Blend to strengthen the financial spending of the government in order to regularized salaries and operation fund payment,” Kiir added.

In December 2015, South Sudan abandoned a fixed exchange rate and surrendered its currency, the South Sudanese pound, to trade freely in the market against the US dollar and other foreign currencies, to compete with the black market.

The South Sudanese leader also unveiled government plans to increase the salaries of civil servants by 100 percent.

“In the 2021-2022 budget the government has resolved to increase salaries by 100% as phase one with immediate effect and will be fully reviewed later on during the financial year as the economy improve,” Kiir added.

Talks with opposition groups

President Salva Kiir says his government is engaging the holdout opposition groups under the South Sudan Opposition Movements Alliance (SSOMA) in order to end insecurity in the country.

“This process is ongoing and we are committed to reaching an agreement with our brothers and sisters in SSOMA in order to end insecurity in our country,” he said.

Currently, there are two factions of the South Sudan Opposition Movements Alliance (SSOMA).

A faction of SSOMA led by Gen. Thomas Cirillo consists of four groups namely: The National Salvation Front (NAS); The National Democratic Movement-Patriotic Front (NDM-PF); The South Sudan National Movement for Change/Army (SSNMC/A); and The United Democratic Revolution Movement/Army (UDRM/A). 

Gen. Paul Malong and Pagan Amum are both leading another faction of SSOMA. The faction is made up of two organizations, the Real Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (R-SPLM) led by Pagan Amum and the South Sudan United Front/Army (SSUF/A) under Gen. Paul Malong.

In March, representatives of the government and of the South Sudan Opposition Movements Alliance (SSOMA) faction led by Gen. Paul Malong and Pagan Amum recommitted to a “cessation of hostilities agreement” signed on December 21, 2017.