South Sudan’s embassy in neighbouring Uganda is at risk of closure following the government’s sustained failure to pay rental arrears, according to multiple sources that include senior diplomats.

Two diplomats, who preferred anonymity, told Radio Tamazuj that the South Sudanese embassy in Kampala could be forced to close due to lack of funds if the government doesn’t have the money to sustain the embassy.

They pointed out that the closure of the South Sudanese embassy in Kampala will also affect other three embassies in Congo, Rwanda and Burundi.

They noted that the diplomats have not received their salaries for several months due to lack of financial resources, saying the issuance of passports and national ID cards at the embassy had been stopped.

South Sudan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs admitted that it is struggling to pay its diplomats abroad as the country’s dire economic situation worsens and inflation soars.

The ministry’s official spokesman Mawien Makol told Radio Tamazuj this afternoon that the government is trying to figure out solutions to the problem.

“You know since the last five months we have been struggling to pay the money to sustain the embassies, so the problem is general, and not our embassy in Uganda only,” said Makol.

“We have received complaints from Uganda and other embassies like in Ethiopia and other embassy, so there are many embassies that are facing challenges, but we are working to solve the issue,” he added.

South Sudan has been experiencing serious economic challenges, which are mostly attributed to the ongoing civil war that has disrupted oil production.