A bundle of 500 South Sudan pounds note. (Courtesy).

The Ministry of Finance and Planning has directed all government institutions to ensure that civil servants are paid through personal bank accounts.

In a circular dated May 19, 2025, the ministry’s first undersecretary instructed all accounting officers to tell civil servants in their respective institutions to open personal salary accounts with commercial banks within a week.

According to the circular, only those whose bank account details are submitted by line institutions will be eligible to receive their salaries. These details will be shared with the Ministry of Public Service and Human Resource Development and the Ministry of Finance and Planning.

The directive is part of a wider plan to digitize the government’s salary payment system.

“The objective of the new payment mechanism for civil servants is to facilitate and fast-track the effective implementation of a planned human resource management information system, with a biometrically integrated payroll system,” the circular reads.

The ministry says this reform is aimed at improving efficiency, ensuring timely salary disbursements, and addressing persistent liquidity shortages that have affected cash-based salary payments in the public sector.

“This is a key reform item under the public financial management programs,” the statement adds.

The circular further explains that the move will accelerate the processing and disbursement of salaries by using designated personal bank accounts.

The announcement comes months after Finance Minister Marial Dongrin pledged to shift all salary and operational payments to the banking system in an effort to reduce reliance on cash and improve financial accountability.

At the time, the minister said: “Telecommunication operators will be tasked with intensifying public awareness campaigns to educate citizens on the benefits and usage of mobile banking services.”

The government says the digital transition aims to build a more secure and transparent salary disbursement system, which has for years depended heavily on physical cash transactions.