14/10/2025
:No thank you
By Igwe Yokyieen Akot
I write this letter not out of peace, but out of deep pain and exhaustion — the pain shared by thousands of South Sudanese who spend endless hours, sometimes days, lining up at banks just to receive what rightfully belongs to them — their hard-earned salaries.
Every month, the story is the same. Civil servants, teachers, soldiers, nurses, and ordinary workers queue under the hot sun, waiting with hope that fades as hours turn into days. And at the end of it all, some go home empty-handed, while others receive only 50,000 South Sudanese Pounds — a small fraction of their full salaries.
It is hard not to notice that the reason for shifting salary payments from the traditional way — through institutional finance offices, cashiers, and direct staff payments — to banks seems to have created an opportunity for looting our money. Instead of simplifying payment and ensuring workers are paid fully and promptly, this system has become a tool that allows our salaries to be delayed, partially paid, or in some cases, disappear entirely.
Is this the reward for serving our nation faithfully? Is this what it means to be a citizen in a country we call our own?
The situation is heartbreaking and humiliating. Families go hungry. Children are sent home from schools because their parents cannot afford fees. Rent remains unpaid. Prices in the market rise daily, yet the little we receive from the banks can barely sustain us for a week.
We are tired of long waiting. We are tired of excuses. We are tired of watching our people suffer in silence while those responsible for financial management live in comfort. The banking system must be fixed, and salaries must be paid in full, on time, and without unnecessary struggle.
This letter is not written in anger but in desperation — a desperate call for justice, dignity, and fairness. We demand immediate reform in the salary payment system, proper coordination between the Ministry of Finance and the banks, and accountability for those who delay, mismanage, or siphon public funds.
We have served this nation with loyalty; it’s time the nation serves us with respect.
With burning concern and broken patience,
A Tired and Concerned Citizen of South Sudan
