This archive report was first published on 9 July 2019.
On the eighth anniversary of South Sudan's independence, President Salva Kiir marked the occasion with a speech, but it was not a celebration of the country's progress. Instead, he apologized to civil servants who had gone without salaries for several months.
According to Radio Miraya, President Kiir attributed the failure to pay the money to weak governance in the departments responsible for raising funds. He pledged to personally get involved in the issue, which had caused significant hardship for many civil servants.
Just last month, the finance minister was unable to present the annual budget due to a walkout by MPs over the salary issue, as reported by Reuters.
South Sudan's independence day is typically marked with grand celebrations, but this year's festivities were subdued due to a shortage of funds, as revealed by the information minister in an interview with Eye Radio.
