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Sudan Tribune

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South Sudan: Ministry of Commerce staff strike over unpaid housing allowances

By Julius N. Uma

November 01, 2010 (JUBA) – Staff at the Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Supply in Southern Sudan, staged a strike on Monday vowing not to resume work until their housing allowances, accrued over a 12-month period are paid.

The mainly male protestors chanted slogans and danced around the compound in a move aimed at drawing attention to the concerned authorities.

Those affected, Sudan Tribune has learnt, are mainly staffs from civil service grades 5-17, while the amount reportedly approved, but not yet paid to staffs amounts to SDG 2.45 million (just over $1 million) for a one year period.

Protestors have demanded that government bare responsibility for the failure to pay staff.

“This time someone must be answerable. We are tired of excuses all the time from people who think they are above this government. Someone must explain the mess in this ministry,” one of the protestors, who asked not to be named, told Sudan Tribune from the ministry premises.

Later in the protest about 60 strikers, threatened to confront over 30 anti-riot police, who had been ferried to the ministry to quell the strike.

The police eventually left the ministry premises after being convinced by officials.

John Pan Paguir, the Acting Undersecretary in the Ministry accused the striking staff of being impatient and failing to follow the procedures set by the ministry.

The delays in payment, he said, were mainly attributed to the ongoing policy of payroll cleansing initiated by government to get rid of existing “ghosts’ workers” in an effort to tackle corruption.

“Some of these staffs are looking at the little timeframe left before the referendum, thinking they will not be paid. We shall pay everyone once the payroll issue is resolve[d]. How can they give us [an] ultimatum to pay them, yet we have systems to follow?” Paguir asked.

Sudan is the sixth most corrupt country in the world according to a report last week by Transparency International.

Corruption has blighted the south’s attempts to recover from civil war and years of underdevelopment.

On September 20, an internal letter written by Stephen Dhieu, the Commerce, Trade and Supply minister addressed to the undersecretary reportedly caused some staff to absent themselves from the ministry.

In the letter, the minister said: “Regarding the housing allowances, I hereby instructing [instruct] you that all staff who are entitled to their allowances as mentioned above shall be scrutinized first before they are paid and eventually when am back from Egypt on my official visit”.

Attempts to get a comment from Ben Kingston Luduk, the Director General for Administration and Finance in the ministry proved difficult, after he reacted by locking his office door upon realizing the presence of the media.

(ST)

5 Comments

  • Ahmed Chol
    Ahmed Chol

    South Sudan: Ministry of Commerce staff strike over unpaid housing allowances
    This idea of allowance has to stop, Everybody should depend on his or her salary. Too much of these allowances is what drains the GoSS budget.

    Reply
  • Padiet Deng Alony
    Padiet Deng Alony

    South Sudan: Ministry of Commerce staff strike over unpaid housing allowances
    Corruption need to tackled througly by screening the Ghosts names and i know former Minister of Finance in Upper Nile State now the commerce minister at GOSS will fix every thing fairly. worry not strickers your money will be given to you unless you are within the so called Ghosts name.You are lucky guys for asking to be paid rent allowances but for us here in Upper Nile we are not recieving even a single coins for rent.

    Reply
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