Lakes State Governor conducts headcount to downsize workers

By Ruben Malith Barnaba

March 27, 2008 (RUMBEK) — As a part of the downsizing of the redundant workers emphasized by the President of Southern Sudan during the firth Governor’s forum recently in Juba, yesterday the Governor of Lakes State Lt. Gen. Daniel Awet Akot conducted a headcount in his State Headquarters.

All the workers from various institutions in the State were assembled in the Secretariat General where the people were required to fill out forms. The main gate of the secretariat General was closed and cordoned off by the army, nobody was allowed to enter or leave until 5:30pm.

As a result of the serious budget cuts from GoSS, last month the constitutional post holders were not paid January salaries as they were given to the workers.

The reason of the headcount is to know the number of active workforce in the State and to terminate those who don’t come to work and weed out the ghost workers. The Governor, having brought security to Lakes State is again fighting corruption to a zero tolerance.

“There are people who don’t come to work and only report to work when they hear that salaries are out”, said the Governor Awet.

Lakes State’s workforce is 7,000 people which is beyond the sealing put by GoSS, according to the Government of Southern Sudan, each State in Southern Sudan is required employ a workforce that should not exceed more than 5,000 people.

Lakes State before the CPA had workers in the Western Bahr El Ghazal town of Wau, following the establishment of Lakes State Government; then they were brought to the State and merged together with the workers of Civil Administration of the New Sudan (CANS), hence increasing the workforce to more than 7,000 but many were laid off.

The Government is to lay off an additional 3800 individuals in June this year when the Ministry of Finance has released a pension package to be awarded to those who have reached a pension age.

For a Country that is entirely dependence on oil revenues, the question of salaries for workers in Southern Sudan is going to be a controversial issue as the budget from the North is dwindling.

(ST)