Authorities in South Sudan's Northern Bahr el Ghazal state have reportedly stopped paying 80 employees, raising fear among civil servants in the state, a senior official confirmed.

The official, whose salary was stopped, said there were "strong indications" that the government will dismiss the 80 people from their jobs.

"They told us that this is a decision of the council of ministers," the official, speaking anonymously, said.

A salary payment committee formed on orders of caretaker governor Akot Deng Akot in September reported that "idle" workers were largely responsible for the government’s bloated wage bill.

The committee chaired by Angok Achuol Barjok with Sabrino Majok Majok as the secretary of the committee reviewed the number of employees and concluded: “many civil servants lack job description and are hardly contributing to public administration." The report revealed that some of the civil servants had become "redundant" and others duplicated duties.

However, many civil servants see the order as an attempt by the new administration to dismiss from services those perceived to be supporters of the former caretaker governor Kuel Aguer Kuel, as well as relatives of officials in the armed opposition.