South Sudan has gained a reputation for not paying civil servants but Fort Portal City is not far off as more than 30 the city staff, recruited in June 2024, have gone without pay for nearly 10 months.
The affected workers claim the prolonged salary delay has made survival difficult, while authorities attribute the issue to a procedural delay tied to the financial year closure.
"In June 2024, we were granted permission to recruit 30 technical staff to fill gaps in the city’s labour force. By July, appointment letters were issued, and the new employees assumed their roles" said Richard Mugisha, the deputy city clerk.
The affected staff include two monitoring and evaluation officers (for North and Central divisions), two records officers, two agriculture officers, two veterinary officers, and two assistant animal husbandry officers.
Also affected are a commercial officer for central division and multiple town agents, among others.
According to Wilbert Begumya, the assistant animal husbandry officer, despite their commitment to work, none have received salaries since their recruitment.
"We go through alot to survive, at first we had thought its a short time delay but turned to now ten months of waiting," said Richard Agaba, an animal husbandry officer.
Mugisha acknowledged the delay but cited the timing of recruitment as the primary issue.
"The city has requested a supplementary budget from the government to resolve the crisis," he said.
With no clear timeline for payment, the affected employees remain in financial limbo, raising concerns about morale and service delivery in Fort Portal City.