Civil servants in Jonglei State have begun receiving one month’s salary after nearly two years without pay, prompting mixed reactions as the country prepares for its first post-independence elections scheduled for Dec. 22.
Workers in the state capital, Bor, told Radio Tamazuj on Friday that while the payment was welcome, it did little to ease the financial hardship caused by prolonged salary arrears.
“We last got paid in March 2025, so which month is this salary supposed to cover?” said civil servant Abraham Mading. “It will not even be enough for basic needs like food or school fees. Most of it will go toward paying debts.”
Mading, who also serves with the Jonglei State Workers’ Union, urged the government to clear all outstanding salary arrears before the elections.
“We are not celebrating because this is a right that has been denied to us for two years,” he said. “We are the electorate. The government should pay us what we are owed before asking us to vote.”
Another civil servant, Mary Ayen, said many workers had almost forgotten what it felt like to receive a salary.
“We had forgotten that salaries still existed in South Sudan,” she said. “Now that payments have resumed, we hope the government will clear the arrears accumulated over the past two years.”
Officials at the Jonglei State Ministry of Finance were not immediately available for comment.
Simon Manyok Deng, the state’s human rights adviser, described the payment as a positive step but said one month’s salary was insufficient after years of non-payment.
“Salaries are a legal entitlement for all civil servants under the Labour Act,” he said. “While this payment is welcome, reactions remain mixed. Some see it as a sign that the government intends to clear the arrears, while others view it as too little, too late.”
He said prolonged salary delays had pushed many public employees into severe economic hardship and undermined confidence in the government.
“I cannot even tell which month’s salary we are receiving because I only remember being paid early last year,” Deng said. “One month’s pay will not cover food, medicine or school fees. Civil servants have lost trust in the government, and that trust can only be restored by clearing the salary arrears.”
Kenya Mach, a civil society activist and member of the state women’s association, welcomed the payment but said it should mark the beginning of a broader effort to settle outstanding salaries.
“We welcome this move, but it should only be the beginning,” she said. “Salaries are a right, and civil servants should continue demanding their arrears. If the government wants to demonstrate its commitment ahead of the elections, one month’s salary is simply not enough.”
Mach warned that prolonged salary delays could undermine voter participation.
“The same people who have gone unpaid for more than two years are expected to participate in the December elections,” she said. “The government should not be surprised if many lose confidence in the electoral process.”
Salary delays have affected civil servants across South Sudan, not only in Jonglei. Public sector workers in several states have repeatedly reported going months, and in some cases years, without receiving wages as the government grapples with fiscal constraints and a prolonged economic crisis.
Professionals including teachers, health workers and doctors, whose monthly salaries typically range from about $10 to $50, experience prolonged payment delays, forcing many to rely on loans, informal work or family support. Trade unions and civil society groups have repeatedly urged the government to clear salary arrears, warning that chronic non-payment has weakened public services, fueled staff absenteeism and eroded confidence in state institutions.
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