By Kei Emmanuel Duku
The leadership of the Africa Resources Corporation (ARC) is facing a high-stakes legal showdown after its engineering staff issued a final 72-hour ultimatum to settle massive salary arrears spanning up to 20 months.
In a stinging internal memorandum dated December 17, 2025 obtained by the outlet, the ARC Engineers Committee warned that “failure to respond will lead to legal action and no further compromise on this matter”.
“To the management and Managing Director in particular, we have been patient enough and we are giving you only three days to reveal the truth, from 17th to 20th December 2025,” the committee stated in the letter addressed to Managing Director Mrs. Adut Mel Kuol.
The crisis at the prominent construction firm reached a breaking point this week as employees accused management of silence and intimidation instead of settling undeniable arrears. According to the committee, redundant staff have not been paid for 15 months, while retained personnel are owed over 20 months of back pay following the last payments made in March 2024.
The disgruntled engineers detailed a history of alleged betrayal, noting that in June 2025, the company downsized more than 90 percent of its workforce due to its financial status. While staff initially accepted the redundancy without resistance based on assurances of payment, they allege the company instead formed an Asset Management Committee (AMC) comprised of security agents and loyalists to forcefully confiscate company vehicles from engineers.
When contacted by this outlet to specify the exact amount the former employees of ARC Company are demanding, Eng. Jacob Reang Mayak, Chairperson of the ARC Engineers’ Committee, emphasized a commitment to legal due process.
“The employees are not in charge of calculating their own arrears, but we are communicating with the Ministry of Labor,” Eng. Mayak stated. “We are waiting from them; they are circulating the actual figures each employee is supposed to be paid. They are cooperating with us and they are not working alone because we need to obey the labor laws and rules of these country”
Eng. Mayak, who confirmed he is among those laid off, expressed frustration over the lack of transparency from the company’s leadership.
“After three days, we will take action against them because since the staff were laid off, there is no communication, and no one is telling us exactly what is happening,” Mayak warned. “Through the legal suits, perhaps we will see justice… All of these things are directly connected to every staff member who was laid off. So, we will be patient. We are waiting. Because usually, no one that is in the management can help us in addressing this case.”
The ultimatum, signed by both Eng. Mayak and Secretary General Eng. Cyer Ring Deng, has been copied to the Admin/Human Resource, Legal Advisor and other agencies.
Africa Resources Corporation (ARC) is one of South Sudan’s largest locally-owned construction firms, frequently tasked with multi-million dollar national infrastructure projects, including the Juba-Rumbek highway. However, the company has frequently been entangled in controversy.
In recent years, civil society groups and international observers have named the firm in various reports regarding the lack of transparency in the allocation of public funds. Critics have often pointed to the company’s receipt of large government contracts through oil-backed credit lines, raising concerns over whether public resources are being effectively managed or diverted while the company’s own workforce remains unpaid.
The company is yet to issue an official statement regarding the staged claims by the former employers.