Police parade in training session|Photo|Courtesy

South Sudan and Malaysia have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to train South Sudanese immigration officers in border management and security.

Maj. Gen. Elia Costa, the Director General of Civil Registry, Nationality, Passports, and Immigration, disclosed the agreement upon his return from Malaysia over the weekend.

“ We went to Malaysia to acquire knowledge from our counterparts. The visit was very successful, we met with the authority of immigration here,” he told the media.

He said the MoU, signed with the Director of Malaysia’s Immigration Department, aims to promote knowledge exchange and strengthen cooperation between the two countries in immigration practices.

“They assure that they will contribute and cooperate with us in South Sudan in the field of border management control.

“During our visit, we also managed to visit the facility where they print and issue passports and nationality IDs. We learn from them on how they print their passports,” said the police spokesperson.

Members of the public have often raised concerns about delays in acquiring or renewing passports and national identity cards, largely due to the government’s failure to settle arrears with a German company contracted to print the documents.

For months, reports from across the country, including Juba International Airport, embassies, and border points, have highlighted growing frustration among travelers such as students, patients seeking medical care abroad, and business people who are stranded or forced to cancel trips due to expired passport cards.

In July 2024, angry South Sudanese stormed the Department of Nationality, Passports, and Immigration in Juba to protest delays in the issuance of travel and identification documents.

The situation worsened in August 2024 when the Director General announced a temporary halt in the issuance of passports and national ID cards due to a software system breakdown.

The department had earlier reported in June 2023 that it was struggling to issue new regular passports due to a shortage of booklets.

Col. Johnny Buol, the former Director for Moral Orientation and Information and Public Relations at the Directorate, attributed the crisis to the government’s failure to pay outstanding arrears to the German company, Muhlbauer.