A civil society activist has criticised the government over continued delays in paying civil servants, saying some workers have yet to receive their salaries despite a directive for payments to be made through designated commercial banks.
Bol Deng said some civil servants have been queuing for hours at banks without receiving their money, while others have received only half of their salaries.
He described the situation as particularly difficult for government employees struggling with rising living costs and low wages.
“It is very, very unfortunate to learn just recently of the situation regarding the civil servants’ salaries,” Deng said.
He said the government had directed civil servants to collect their salary arrears in cash from specific commercial banks, but the process had not delivered the expected results for many workers.
“Some civil servants have not received their salaries completely. They have gone to those specific banks, and they have not been able to access. Others have been kept in queue for long hours and at the end of the day they have not been able to receive their salaries. Others have received just half of it,” he said.
Deng added that some workers continued to visit banks daily in the hope of receiving their outstanding payments.
He said the delays had persisted for months in some cases, with some civil servants reportedly going more than five months without pay, while others had accumulated salary arrears spanning up to two years.
The activist urged civil servants across the country to demand their outstanding salaries as a right rather than repeatedly appealing to the government for assistance.
“I would like to urge the civil servants all across the country to not look like they are begging the government to give them their salaries. It should be the other way around. It should be, in fact, that it is the civil servants who are demanding for their rightful salaries,” Deng said.
He encouraged workers to pursue lawful means of seeking payment, including peaceful protests, petitions and legal action.
Deng said timely payment of salaries was essential for civil servants to meet their families’ basic needs, including food, healthcare and other necessities.
He called for an end to the prolonged delays, saying government employees should be able to access their earned salaries without repeated visits to banks or appeals to authorities.
The post Civil servants still await salaries despite government payment directive first appeared on Eye Radio.