27/08/2025
South Sudan oil company boss avoids office as pay stops
Employees of South Sudan’s state-owned oil company accuse their managing director of deliberately avoiding the office to evade questions about months of unpaid salaries—a crisis they say has caused deepening despair.
Speaking to Media on Tuesday, several staff members at the Nile Petroleum Corporation (Nilepet) described a leadership vacuum. They said Managing Director Ayuel Ngor Kacgor, appointed in October 2024, has become largely absent from headquarters, rarely engaging with senior management or the company’s more than 3,000 employees.
The primary complaint is non-payment. Staff say they have not received salaries or allowances since April, a crisis worsened by the suspension of food rations and medical insurance. While salaries had previously been cut by 70% due to an oil shutdown triggered by the war in Sudan, workers say they expected full pay to resume after production restarted in February.
“There has been no communication,” said one employee, who like others spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals. “We were expecting the managing director to inform us when salaries would resume and arrears would be paid. But since then, nothing.”
Instead, they say Kacgor has become increasingly elusive. Several employees said he now works primarily from other locations, including the Radisson Blu Hotel and the offices of Nile Orange, a South African company awarded an oil block in Jonglei State.
“He doesn’t come to the office frequently. Sometimes he shows up for an hour, then leaves to avoid any engagement with staff,” said one employee. Another claimed Kacgor often arrives only after 5 p.m., long after most employees have left for the day.
“I think he’s afraid to come to the office because he knows staff will ask why he’s refusing to pay salaries,” the employee added.
