Civil servants gifted with 100% pay rise on Independence Day
The government has promised a fat paycheck for the civil servants who have been cash strapped due to delayed payment of salaries as well as under-remuneration.
President Salva Kiir Mayardit announced on Friday, July 9, during the commemoration of Independence Day that plans are underway to revise the job groups and raise the salary scales of the civil servants.
The plan is to use the 2021-2022 financial budget to raise the pay of the civil servants by 100 per cent, he announced.
“Fellow citizens, I am aware that our civil savants have not been paid on time and they have endured irregular salary payments for a long time. I am also aware that salary scales have not been reviewed since we realigned our currency in 2015.
“In the 2021 and 2022 [fiscal year], the government has resolved to increase its salaries by 100% at phase one with immediate effect. It will be fully reviewed later on during the financial year as the economy improves,” he stated.
Plan mooted
The president also instructed the ministry of finance and planning and the ministry of petroleum to dedicate 5,000 barrels of Nile crude oil per day to strengthen the financial standing of the Government in order to regularise salary payments.
He also directed the Adhoc cabinet committee on the implementation of governance resolution to work with the ministry of trade and other government relevant agencies to look into the issues of the prices of the commodities in the market as the dollar drops against South Sudanese Pounds
“I believe that these measures [are able to] prevent your sufferings. I wish you a happy and peaceful 10th celebration that we are marking with great South Sudan [marathon] under the theme ‘let us run for the better South Sudan’. I call upon you to support us by embracing peace in all your activities and interactions.
“I assure you that not to return the country to war again let us all work together to recover the lost decant and put our country back to a new development let us put our country back again,” he assuredly stated.
The president also announced a raft of economic stimulus policies mooted to steer the country into the recovery path. These, he said, had translated into the appreciation of the local currency against the US dollar.
“Follow citizens on the economic reforms the government is implementing series of measures designed to strengthen and reform the ministry finance and planning as well as the bank of South Sudan and this is why the South Sudanese pounds has appreciated against the dollar,’’ he stated. He further revealed that the ministry of finance and planning has developed public finance management strategy to improve the economic management system.
“The national revenue authority has also become stronger and more effective by collecting 300 per cent more from non-oil revenues,” the president explained.
Part of the adjustments is the new taxation management system that the National Revenue Authority integrated to enable taxpayers to register online and have their details taken for compliance.