The salaries for South Sudan’s army, the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA), have not been paid for at least two months, Radio Tamazuj has learned.
SPLA troops have been fighting against opposition groups since 2013.
For his part, the SPLA deputy military spokesman, Santo Domic confirmed that the government forces have gone unpaid since February, while attributing the problem to the current economic crisis and budget deficit.
“This is problem is not for the SPLA only, it is actually a general problem, because since the start of the rebellion our economy has started deteriorating,” said Domic.
The budget presented to the national parliament by the finance minister in October last year showed more than half of the budget allocated to military operations.
The fiscal year 2016/2017 budget showed an estimated 22.3 billion South Sudanese Pounds from which 11.045 billion would go to the security sector.
Photo: President Salva Kiir with his Chief of General Staff Paul Malong during Independence Day celebrations. (Radio Tamazuj)