By Philip Buda ladu
The Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning, Agok Makur on Monday promised his ministry’s commitment to pay civil servants’ salaries within one week’s time and clear MPs recess money in five days.
Makur made the promise on behalf of his Ministry while answering lawmakers at parliamentary Sitting No. 13/2022 on Monday for the second reading stage of the budget deliberations.
Members of Parliament at the Transitional National Legislature questioned the Ministry of Finance and planning about their delayed money for the slotted Recess of the August House and the Deputy Minister rose to assure them of their pay within a five days’ time.
“My answer for the Recess money –within five working days, Rt. Hon. Speaker we can pay the recess”–but what I expect also from you is to ask about salaries, you didn’t talk about salaries but recess,” Makur said.
He stressed that salaries are very important as the government employees are suffering adding that the Ministry of Finance will also pay civil servants’ salaries within the timeframe of seven working days.
“It is our role as Ministry of Finance and Planning, to come out with the salary to our people outside there because they are suffering too much. Also within a week we can handle the salaries,” Deputy Minister Makur affirmed.
Last month the Minister of Finance and Planning Agak Achuil Lual stated that they have been working so hard to clear civil servants’ salary arrears saying they have succeeded now to pay up to the month of October and they were left with three months that was in February.
With the month of March means the civil servants’ arrears will now rose up to four months that the Ministry of Finance and Planning will have to clear off.