Nearly 600 civil servants of retirement age in S. Sudan: ministry

October 7, 2019 (JUBA) – 588 South Sudan government employees are above 65 years and should be retired from active service, a headcount by the Labour and Public Service ministry has indicated.

Speaking to reporters in the capital, Juba on Friday, Cabinet Affairs minister, Martin Elia Lomuro the exercise found that there are 17,601 civil servants, 14,009 of who are present while the 3,052 are absent.

An adhoc committee from the Public Service ministry carried out head count exercise in a move aimed at reforming the civil service.

Lomuro said over 1,300 people were found to have been illegally employed by either their relatives or senior officials in government.

“People are employed whether they are qualified or not, depending on who is the leader, either at the top or somewhere in the middle at the ministry,” he said.

The minister, however, added that at least 50% of the civil servants currently serving the national government are between 27-44 years.

“This actually means we have a young people and this is commendable,” he stressed.

Lomuro further said there are 10,381 out of the 14,009 government employees who are due for promotion, but promotion is still pending.

“People are stuck, they have not been moving forward,” he added.

The Public Service ministry, he said, will extend a similar headcount to all the states in the country as part of strengthening the civil service.

In February, South Sudan launched its first payment of pensioners after the country’s independence from Sudan in July 2011.

(ST)