South Sudan's tax department urges displaced officials to return

South Sudan's tax department on Friday urged about 159 officials displaced by the more than three years of conflict to return to work and boost the struggling customs department.

Acting Director General for Customs Service Akol Ayii Madut told journalists in the capital of Juba that the officials have abandoned duty leaving the tax body with a huge human resource gap.

"We have 41 officers and 118 non-commissioned officers and privates in custom service who have not been reporting for work in their various duty stations for a long time," Madut revealed.

Madut issued a two-week ultimatum for the absentee officers outside the country and seven days for those believed to be within the war-torn country to report to their work stations.

He added that failure to respond to the directive, will attract sanctions.

Madut also revealed that some of these officers are believed to be living in the internally displaced persons and refugee camps in neighboring countries.

"What I know is that some are in the camps in East Africa, some are in Kakuma refugee camp. Now some are calling us back by phone asking their salaries to be sent to them," he revealed.

He added that the exodus of these officers has left a human resource gap within customs department leading to revenue shortfall for the government.

"We lack manpower due to absence of these officers for over two years without replacement," he said.

In June, the International Monetary Fund urged oil rich but yet impoverished South Sudan to build the non-oil revenue sector in order to cushion the oil dominated economy from shocks in the aftermath of more than three years of conflict and fall in global oil prices that has led to hyper inflation in the country.

Inflation reached 835.7 percent in October alone, amid high prices of goods in the country with oil production currently below 130,000 barrels a day declining from the peak production of 350,000 barrels per day. Endit