The recent rupture of a vital oil pipeline has exacerbated South Sudan's economic challenges, leaving many in the security forces unpaid for nine months. As a result, some soldiers and civil servants are turning to side jobs or leaving their positions. South Sudan's economy heavily relies on oil exports through Sudan, but the ongoing conflict in Sudan has led to chaos, and a pipeline in a conflict zone ruptured in February. The resulting decline in oil revenues has worsened South Sudan's longstanding issues with official mismanagement.
The situation has sparked protests in the capital, Juba, over the lack of pay, and more demonstrations are expected. People are being forced to find alternative ways to make up for the missed salary payments. In Juba, a deputy head teacher named Maburuk Kuyu Surur, who has been teaching for 36 years, stated he had never experienced such a delay in salary payments, dating back to the time before South Sudan's independence in 2011. Surur mentioned that he and other teachers have been collecting small contributions from students' families to support themselves, even though education is supposed to be free. "We are suffering," the 60-year-old said.
President Salva Kiir, who has led South Sudan since its independence, is under international pressure to prepare for postponed elections. His government has struggled amid the economic crisis, with the finance ministry seeing six different ministers since 2020, the latest of whom was dismissed in July.
Recent visits by the Associated Press to government ministries and offices in Juba revealed them mostly empty during working hours. Remaining employees explained that many colleagues had left due to working without pay since October. One government worker, who requested anonymity, said her salary, when paid, was equivalent to $8 a month. She has since found a restaurant job, earning around $20. "Prices keep rising every day," she noted, adding that a 50-kilogram bag of maize flour now costs up to five times more than a year ago.
Inflation in South Sudan stands at 35% compared to last year, according to the World Bank, and the local currency has significantly devalued against the U.S. dollar both on the black market and at the official rate. Despite a third of South Sudan's oil still being exported through another pipeline, President Kiir has expressed frustration with mismanagement, as the government must increasingly rely on non-oil revenue, like taxes on imported goods.
These revenues should be sufficient to cover salaries, but the funds aren't reaching government accounts, Kiir stated in July. "We have nine solid months people have not received their salaries, and we have money," he said after swearing in the latest finance minister. Kiir instructed the minister to establish a single account for all revenues and crack down on corrupt revenue collection practices.
Previously, the government had not focused much on non-oil revenues when oil exports were higher, explained Boboya James, CEO of the Juba-based Institute of Social Policy and Research. He attributed the shrinking public finances to poor policies and corruption that have deprived the young nation of development funds.
Some external support continues, with the African Development Bank and South Sudan's government recently signing a $46.2 million agreement to support agricultural production through December 2030. However, international frustration is growing among partners who once celebrated South Sudan's independence. Intercommunal violence persists despite the end of civil war years ago, and the elections initially scheduled for last year have been postponed to December. However, the United Nations reports that the necessary preparations for the elections are incomplete.
Displacement and poverty remain widespread in the landlocked country, with the U.N. stating that 75% of the population relies on humanitarian aid. South Sudan hopes to diversify its revenue through tourism, fruit, and vegetable farming, among other initiatives. However, its civil servants and security forces show signs of exhaustion.
In May, the foreign ministry reported that diplomats and staff at South Sudan's foreign missions had not received their salaries since 2019. Many have relied on support from friends and loved ones. In June, a senior South Sudanese diplomat at the embassy in Rome was seen crying in a video posted online after being evicted from his apartment for failing to pay rent.
At home, hundreds of university lecturers and others have protested in Juba over unpaid salaries, with security forces not intervening. Some of these security forces are quietly seeking other means of livelihood. "I have decided to desert my government job and become a charcoal broker," said Akol Deng, a member of the armed forces, who now supplies charcoal to local restaurants and residential areas instead.