Civil servants in South Darfur state are finally receiving 60% of their April 2023 salaries after a ten-month hiatus prompted by the conflict between the army and the Rapid Support Forces that began in mid-April of the same year.
The Acting Minister of Education and Guidance, Omar Adam Omar, told Radio Tamazuj on Wednesday they have started disbursing salaries to employees in the state, with 60% of the salary for April 2023.
“State employees who were displaced to other states due to the war now receive their salaries through the registration offices in the nearest town to their locations. The State Ministry of Finance has facilitated this process by transferring salaries to workers in all government sectors in the state through the registration offices in various states,” Omar said.
Minister Omar disclosed that payments are now being made at the Ministry of Education centers, as well as in the North and South Nyala localities. Additionally, the salaries of workers in the state’s localities have been handed over to the executive directors of those localities.
Aida Ibrahim Adam, a teacher in South Darfur State, confirmed that they have received 60% of a month’s salary after enduring war conditions since April of last year. She expressed hope that the government would show compassion to the workers by ensuring timely payment of salaries in the coming months.
Izdihar Suleiman, an employee at the South Darfur TV channel, highlighted the significant hardship faced by many employees due to the lack of salaries for several months.
She urged the responsible authorities to expedite the payment of the remaining salaries to assist civil service employees in meeting their basic living needs.
The war between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) erupted on 15 April 2023 over a plan to merge the RSF into the army and launch a transition towards elections.
The conflict has killed more than 13,000 people, according to a conservative estimate by the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project.
Around 7.5 million civilians have fled the fighting either abroad or to other parts of the country, according to United Nations figures.