The Chairman of NRA Board of Directors, Stephen Dhieu Dau - Courtesy

The Chairman of the National Revenue Authority Board of Directors has defended the recruitment process of staff after two senior officials questioned the legality of the exercise.

Nearly two weeks ago, some staff of the NRA staged a peaceful demonstration to protest the alleged major layoff after they were locked out from accessing the headquarters.

The civil servants claimed former Commissioner-General, Dr Patrick Mugoya planned to dismiss them under the pretext of a new recruitment process.

Speaking during the reception of the new Commissioner General on Tuesday, June 27, 2023, Stephen Dhieu Dau says the board acted within the law.

He cited the National Revenue Authority Act 2016 and its five-year strategic plan as well as the staff scheme and the code of conduct as the legal document that regulates the activities of the NRA.

“In our overseeing the management under the former CG [Commissioner General], we were seeing him based on the laws not on personal relationships or anything emotional,” Dheiw said.

“I am not defending myself, but this is the reality. No South Sudanese have been victimized,” he said.

“There is a program that was approved by the government, myself, other colleagues in the board of directors, you yourselves were given this to go and implement,” the chairperson of the board said.

“We have implemented based on the provision of these documents. We will not divert from it except when the third party come and tell us no this is not the right thing you do this.”

According to Stephen Dhieu, the Domestics Tax Revenue Division of the NRA does not have any staffing issues currently.

He added that Customs Service Division initially was supposed to have 600 posts, but there are currently over 3000 officers.

This according to according to Dhieu, requires a joint approach between the Ministry of Finance, Public Service and Interior to address the matter.

For his part, the acting Commissioner of the Customs Service Division Gathon Jual says staff protest at the National Revenue Authority was not to hinder reforms.

He stated the staff were demanding clarity on the advertisement of their positions within the institution.

Gathon said it was impossible to recruit new people into positions that are since occupied.

He suggested screening and dismissing staff because they were many.

“We in Customs are not against change but we fail to understand how Commissioners and experienced officers who worked for more than 15 years in the department are asked to be recruited,” Gathon said.

“These methods also happened to the Domestics Tax,” he said. “They have worked there before the establishment of the Revenue Authority how do you recruit them when they are already the staff of that particular department?

On his part, the acting Commissioner for Domestics Tax Revenue Division Albino Chol also agreed.

He wondered why their senior positions were advertised when they are still working.

“The recruitment where you advertise the position [and] the people are sitting in those positions and you advertised it, we have never experienced anywhere,” said Chol.

“What we know always is you clear the position to be empty and then now you advertise, and you recruit. This was not done in our situation. The positions are advertised, and people are there.”

“Screening is ok but recruitment, you recruit new people to fill up the vacant positions which is not in our case, so I will say that we are misusing the word recruitment itself it should have been screening.”