South Sudan ministry demands 70% local staff on donor-funded projects
The agriculture ministry wants UN agencies such as FAO and UNOPS to fill most project jobs with South Sudanese graduates, leaving 30 percent for foreigners.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security has told international development agencies that at least 70 percent of employees on donor-funded projects should be South Sudanese. The ministry's undersecretary, Morris Aduol Dut, named the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), urging them to prioritise local hiring in their programmes.
Aduol made the call on Thursday at the annual SSHARP Resilience Learning Fair in Juba, organised by FAO, the World Food Programme and the THRIVE Consortium. He said many young graduates had come to his office seeking work, and he criticised delays in projects where communities were still waiting for services despite available funding. He cited sites he had visited in Renk and Malut in Upper Nile State.
The UK's Deputy Development Director at the British Embassy in Juba, Duncan Overfield, said UK-funded work through the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is partnering with local organisations to help vulnerable households diversify livelihoods and adapt to climate change. He reported progress in savings and lending, with communities using loans to start and expand businesses.
Why it mattersGraduates who cannot find work in aid-funded projects would gain the first claim on roughly seven in 10 of those jobs if the ministry's quota is adopted.