Juba to absorb South Sudanese returnees from Sudan and Diaspora

February 8, 2013 (JUBA) – The South Sudanese government on Friday resolved to absorb qualified returnees from Sudan and the Diaspora into civil service jobs.

Based on statistics presented at a cabinet meeting on Friday by the acting minister of labour, public service and human resource development, Kuong Danhier Gatluak, there were some 1,437 South Sudanese working in various institutions in Sudan, while some others came from the Diaspora.

All are now jobless despite having qualifications and experience.

South Sudan had earlier frozen employment of new recruits due to austerity measures resulting from the shutdown of oil production, which had provided 98% of the government’s revenue.

However, the minister of information and broadcasting and the official spokesperson of the government, Barnaba Marial Benjamin, told the press that Friday’s Council of Ministers’ meeting had resolved that this number should be absorbed in existing vacant posts which have already been budgeted for in various institutions of the government – both at national and state levels.

Gatluak was directed by the Council of Ministers to identify 751 vacant posts in various institutions at the national level and process the employment of the two categories, with the other remaining 686 to be employed at state level.

Many of the lucky returnees have already been absorbed informally on a “consolidated basis” by various ministries before the latest decision and will only need to be confirmed after this formal decision by the cabinet.

The government will also take up the challenge of training Arabic-speaking returnees from Sudan in English, which has become the official language in the new Republic.

(ST)