More than a dozen employees in South Sudan’s vice presidential office said they have been ordered to stay home for the past six months without work, raising fears they are being phased out despite still receiving salaries.
The staff members from the office of Vice President for Services Cluster Josephine Lagu told Radio Tamazuj they were sent home soon after she was appointed by President Salva Kiir Mayardit on Feb. 10. They suspect new personnel have been brought in to do their jobs.
The employees, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation, hold civil service positions in finance, administration, procurement and public relations, among others. Their appointments were made by the Ministry of Presidential Affairs during the tenure of Lagu’s predecessor, Gen. Hussein Abdelbagi Akol. Gen. Akol, who had served as vice president for more than four years, was reassigned as agriculture minister.
One employee alleged that new staff had taken their place. “After the reception for the new vice president, many new staff, including her relatives, came and started doing the job,” the employee said. “Currently are more than 18 civil servants staying at home, but some of us realized that she was not planning to work with us.”
Another employee said the office was under renovation for several months, during which Lagu worked from home. “After the office was renewed last month, we tried to go there but we are told we will be called. We don’t think that we will be called because it has been a long time and they are recruiting new staff,” the employee said.
The employees confirmed they are still being paid by the Ministry of Labor but are concerned their prolonged absence is a prelude to termination. They say new staff are already performing their duties, some of them working as volunteers receiving incentives.
“Our worry is that we are redundant,” one employee said. “We are considered by the Ministry of Presidential Affairs as employees of the vice president’s office, but when we go to the vice president’s office we are told we are former employees.”
Stephen Petia, Director of Human Resources at the Ministry of Presidential Affairs, denied the employees were being terminated and attributed their absence to the office renovation.
“If you are getting your salaries then you are not terminated. All of our staff are getting their salaries and all their allowances,” Petia told Radio Tamazuj. He explained that the office of the vice president was being relocated and furnished, a process that was completed last week.
“It is just a matter of informing them to return to work,” he added. “These people were not terminated and you can confirm from the pay sheet.”
Josephine Lagu, who represents the South Sudan Opposition Alliance (SSOA) under a 2018 peace agreement, has resumed work in the new office, though it has not been officially inaugurated. Attempts to get comment from Lagu’s office and the accounting officer were not immediately successful.