The Western Bahr el Ghazal State workers union has disagreed with the state ministry of finance on the new payroll which they said does not reflect the 100 percent salary increment directed by President Salva Kiir.

According to the secretary of the state workers union, Agala Simon Mohammed, the union has been engaging the state finance ministry for the last four days to ensure that the July salary arrears salaries which arrived the state include the 100 percent increment.

“We the workers union in Western Bahr el Ghazal have been in the past four days running after the issue of the civil servants' salaries,” Mohammed explained. “The issue now is not that there is no money, the money is available in the state and we have met with the state ministers of public service and finance but we were given technical details which indicated that the salary to be given is only multiplied by two and we have rejected this system.”

He urged the civil servants to remain calm as Christmas approaches.

“I convey my apology to all civil servants in the state and advise that we should not become an obstacle when people are approaching Christmas but we want to fight for the rights of the civil servants in the state,” Mohammed added.

Several of the civil servants who spoke to Radio Tamazuj said they demand the new payment structure with a 100 percent increment.

“My name is Angelina Pual and on the issue of the salaries, we stayed for a long period without being paid and up to now there is nothing,” Paul said. “There is nothing clear, especially for us in Western Bahr el Ghazal State. We need our money which President Salva Kiir ordered with 100 percent increment without conditions.”

Another public servant, Musa Banga, also said they are only adhering to what the president directed.

“The president instructed that chapter 1 (salaries) is increased by 100 percent, we heard it over the radio and we need 100 percent increment,” Banga said.

Responding to the matter, the state’s minister of finance, planning, and investment, Josephine Mario Ali, said the delay in the payment of the July salary arrears was occasioned by a misunderstanding of the percentage increment directed by the president.  

“The instructions from Juba said all salaries are to be multiplied by two. This means that one month’s salary is multiplied by two,” Minister Mario explained. “But we disagreed with the workers union and the public service because they are talking about salaries doubled by four but in the new salaries structure, it is multiplied by two.”

She added: “As the minister of finance, I do not have a reason not to release the salaries today, tomorrow, or up to Sunday, but the worker’s union and public service are saying that 72 million that was sent from Juba is a grant to the state.”

She said her ministry has formed an oversight committee to deal with the salary payment process and that she met the workers union and public service ministry on the way forward.

“I was in a meeting now and I am now going to meet the deputy governor and I will call the governor in Juba to get a final order because the issue is not in our hands in the state,” Minister Mario said.