A peace activist and civil society leader in South Sudan is calling on the South Sudanese government negotiating team to respond to a report about the amount of “allowances” that they have been collecting at peace talks in Addis Ababa.
The 22-member delegation was authorized by the government to collect $21,000 per day from the treasury as “daily substance allowance”, an average of $954 per person, Radio Tamazuj reports. The chief negotiator Nhial Deng was paid $2000 per day.
Edmund Yakani, head of the Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO), says that this news is seriously disturbing.
“CEPO is seriously disturbed by this news about the payment of allowance to our negotiating team in the political settlement of South Sudan. If this news is true, then the dragging of feet on delaying the settlement of the peace is influenced by this factor.”
He added, “CEPO is urging our negotiating team to respond to this news of their allowance payment. Teachers and health workers work without salaries while seeking for peace is consuming a lot of cash from the public funds at a rate estimated of $20,000 per day, why?”
“For how long will the over $20,000 per diems be paid?”
“CEPO is strongly interested to hear from our negotiating team a response to this news for the sake of clarification of matters for public interest,” said Yakani.
Photo: Shoes of negotiators at the opening of the peace talks on 4 January 2014 (AP)
Related:
South Sudanese chief negotiator paid ‘allowance’ of $2000 per day (5 Dec.)