Jonglei Speaker punches employees for unpaid salary

By Philip Thon Aleu

August 27, 2008 (BOR TOWN) – Parliament takes long to intervene into government employees’ delayed payments because it receives no complains, Speaker of Jonglei State Legislative Assembly told reporters here Monday.

The Speaker, Hon. Jodi Jonglei Boyoris, responding to questions as to why parliament intercedes to staffs’ aid at advanced stages of denied salaries, says the house did not have information then. “We were not aware at all,” he said.

Hon. Jodi Boyoris disclosed that state Ministry of Agriculture failed to pay 55 staffs for seventeen months. Boyoris also unveils that state Ministry of education is confirmed responsible for six months unpaid salary for Alternative Education System through the parliamentary committee formed last week.

State Ministries have been asked by Assembly to give reports to the parliament following complains receive from employees in various counties in the State. If found responsible for the fund diversion or misuse, the legislators will decide the next fade of these ministers, Hon. Jodi said without more elaboration. “I am not a judge to tell what will be done to these ministers but the Members of Parliament will decide,” he said.

LIFE

State Ministry of Agriculture threaten a local reporter for breaking a story disclosing ignored funds misuse as released by Director of Anti-corruption. Sirocco Mayom Biar, THE JUBA POST reporter, in his report says at least two years salaries have not been paid to staffs in the ministry. Dragging the media report to the parliament on Monday, the Minister of Agriculture Bair Deng accused the reporter of sedition.

However, Speaker Boyoris rejected the accusations calling media life, link between people and eye of any democratic nation. “You can’t do without media. I assure you (reporters) that nobody will take you to court …… because you collect news from the source,” he said.

Jonglei parliament aligned State ministers for reports in the Assembly two weeks ago. The Ministries in the queue to parliamentary hearing include; Health, Education, Agriculture, Physical Infrastructures, Local Government and Finance.

Most questions ask by legislators swing around monetary fraud. The house allows full coverage of the sessions to the media; which on the other hand has caused life threat to reporters.

(ST)