By Kiden Stela and Mandela Ndoromo
In a country grappling with relentless financial inflation, the delayed payment of civil servants’ salaries is more than a bureaucratic failure—it’s a form of servitude. The government’s continued failure to pay its workers on time, despite repeated promises, is a betrayal of the very citizens it is meant to serve.
The directives from the highest office to the Ministry of Finance and Planning to pay salaries on time seem to fall on deaf ears. Even with the resumption of oil flow, a supposedly positive development, these promises feel like empty words designed to temporarily appease a suffering populace. The economic cluster’s commitment to paying salaries by the 24th of each month has become nothing more than a hollow promise.
As citizens endure months, and in some cases, a full year, without pay, they face unimaginable hardship. Families in Juba struggle to afford a single meal, and the economic strain has taken a severe toll on the mental and physical well-being of the population. While leaders operate in air-conditioned offices, shielded from the daily realities of hunger and desperation, ordinary people are left to wonder what the fight for independence was all for. Is this the stability that was promised, or are we trapped in a cycle of failed leadership?
For a head of state, the legacy of a liberation struggle should be a nation where its citizens thrive, not just survive. Great leaders are remembered for creating peace and prosperity, not for allowing their people to be misled by poor counsel or unfulfilled promises. The current situation is dire: a lack of salaries, rising insecurity, and a business environment where livelihoods are constantly at risk.
With all the natural resources at its disposal, it is a shame that the country’s leaders act like con artists, offering false hope while practicing a modern form of slavery against their own people.
I urge the Head of State to recognize the gravity of this situation and to honour the citizens who stand with the nation. The country’s future depends not just on its leaders but on the well-being and dignity of every single person. If misguided advisors are standing in the way of progress, it is time to remove them for the sake of South Sudan’s future.
May God protect South Sudan.
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