South Sudanese opposition group SPLM-IO says it is ‘not surprising’ that the government’s chief peace negotiator collects a daily allowance of $2000 for each day he spends at the Addis Ababa peace talks.
Radio Tamazuj revealed last Friday that chief negotiator Nhial Deng collects a $2000 “daily substance allowance” while another 14 members of the government delegation collect $1000 each, paid by the Ministry of Finance.
“It is not surprising given the corrupt nature of the government under President Salva Kiir,” said James Gatdet Dak, spokesman for the leader of the SPLM-IO.
He went on to suggest that this was a waste of money and a motive for the negotiators to avoid making peace.
“While 4 million South Sudanese are in dire need of food assistance and threatened by curable diseases, and children have no access to education simply because they don’t have class rooms and teachers, Salva Kiir’s officials have continued to loot the resources of the people which would have taken care of some of these challenges.”
He questioned how many sick people could be treated and how many classrooms built in a month with the $2,000 per day that is paid to Nhial Deng on top of his salary.
“No wonder why they are not interested to bring peace as negotiators,” said Dak.
The spokesman also stated that SPLM-IO does not pay its negotiators daily allowances. He said they depend on the IGAD mediation for accommodation, feeding and transport.
Negotiator Nhial Deng has yet to react publically to the news that he collected $2000 per day as a daily allowance; other sources loyal to the ruling SPLM-Juba party have confirmed the veracity of the mentioned figures.
File photo: Negotiators Michael Makuei (left), Nhial Deng (center), Bashir Gbandi (left)
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South Sudanese chief negotiator paid ‘allowance’ of $2000 per day (5 Dec.)