Man counts a bundle of 50 SSP notes. [Photo: ELRHA]

A lawmaker has demanded that the Minister of Finance and Planning and the Governor of the Bank of South Sudan be summoned to explain why government workers, including MPs, have not been paid.

Speaking during a parliamentary session on Monday, July 28, Michael Ruot, said that government employees, members of the organized forces, and even MPs themselves have gone for two weeks without accessing their salaries from the Bank of South Sudan and commercial banks.

He said that the two officials must explain the continued delays in salary disbursement for public servants, members of the organized forces, and lawmakers themselves.

“So, we need to know who’s cheating us? Is it the Ministry of Finance or the Bank of South Sudan? So, we need to summon the Minister of Finance and Planning and the Governor of the Bank of South Sudan to come and explain to us why there are no salaries, people are sick, and or not getting their salaries, who’s responsible,” he said.

The MP’s remarks come amid growing public frustration over late salary payments across various government institutions, as inflation and the cost of living continue to rise in the country.

Last week, the Governor of the Bank of South Sudan (BoSS), Dr Addis Ababa Othow, revealed that the central bank was planning to print more currency to ease cash shortage.

Dr Othow made the revelation in a statement to the state-run SSBC, after addressing a parliamentary committee on finance.

However, a statement from the office of the Communication Director at the BoSS later denied the plan to print more currency, saying it was not within the powers of the Bank of South Sudan to do so.