In his address to the nation on the occasion of the 10th Independence Day anniversary today, President Salva Kiir directed relevant institutions to immediately improve salary payment/Office of the President.

President Salva Kiir has directed the Ministry of Finance and that of Petroleum to dedicate 5,000 barrels of crude oil per day to regularize the payment of civil servant salaries.

Kiir noted that since the government floated the South Sudanese pounds in 2015, civil servant salary has not been adjusted.

He says he is aware that government employees are often not paid on time.

This is because civil servants and other employees on government payroll often go for nearly 7 months without salaries.

In his address to the nation on the occasion of the 10th Independence Day anniversary today, President Salva Kiir directed relevant institutions to immediately improve salary payment.

“Today, I am directing the two ministries, the ministry of finance and economic planning and that of Petroleum to dedicate 5,000 barrels of the Nile Blend to strengthen the financial spending of the government in order to regularized salaries salary and operation fund payment,” President Kiir said.

Civil servants such as doctors, nurses, teachers, and security personnel have been living in squalid conditions since the country gained independence in 2011.

A nurse and midwife in South Sudan earn between 2,000 and 5,000 South Sudanese pounds per month, while a doctor receives 6,840 pounds a month.

A foot soldier receives roughly 1,500 pounds, which cannot pay for their food, housing, transport, and others.

President Kiir announced immediate plans for his administration to increase the salaries of civil servants by 100 percent.

“In the 2021-2022 budget the government has resolved to increase salaries by 100% as phase one with immediate effect and will be fully reviewed later on during the financial year as the economy improve,” President Kiir added.

That means a soldier receiving 1,500 pounds will from now on receive 3,000 pounds.