Protesting NRA staff gathered outside the institution's headquarters in Juba.Friday, June 16, 2023. | Courtesy.

More than 100 embattled staff of the National Revenue Authority staged a peaceful demonstration in Juba against a major layoff after they were locked out of the headquarters.

The embattled employees claim that the Commissioner-General is planning to dismiss them in a new recruitment process allegedly to reform the revenue institution.

According to the civil servants, NRA is determined to take the step even after the Ministry of Public Service suspended the process of new recruitment.

The workers, some of whom have been working in the Sudanese Tax Authority before South Sudan’s independence say NRA boss Dr. Patrick Mugoya now wants to replace them.

Some of the staff who spoke to Eye Radio accused the institution of corruption – allegations that could not be independently verified.

“We cannot accept provocation in the country that we liberated, the Commissioner General cannot eat our money and he is threatening because we demanded our rights. He closed the gate and we are ready to die in this gate,” said one angry employee.

“This gate will be closed till the Minister of Finance the CG (Commissioner-General) come to us here, and we will tell them this country is taken over by some foreigners,” he added.

Another protestor said, “We are blocked from the revenue authority headquarters because of corruption.”

“What happened is that we are staff of NRA since a long time ago, when we became NRA, together with Customs Service, but now they say that there’s a new recruitment,” said another.

“Now they say they don’t want us after I have been getting my salary and incentive for a long time, how can I apply again?”

One civil servant named Sarah demanded that NRA heeds the directive of the Ministry of Public Service and stop the recruitment.

“We have our own Public Service, it cannot be like that. No foreigner can colonize South Sudanese. We need this story to reach our president Salva Kiir because we want our rights, we belong to Salva Kiir and we must get our rights today.”

“They suspended us and for some years back they always doing interviews with us, now we have two days and the system is offline and they told us that we are no longer working with NRA.”

Eye Radio has written to and contacted the Commissioner-General of the National Revenue Authority Dr. Patrick Mugoya but there was no immediate response.

However, Dr. Mugoya took to Twitter on Saturday to say he will proceed with the new recruitment process despite threats or intimidation.

“I want to assure the public, RTGoNU, and our partners that, no amount of intimidation will derail the NRA Board and Management from carrying through the ongoing recruitment process to its logical conclusion,” he said.

Mugoya added “in the same vein, the rights of individual staff currently working for the NRA South Sudan will be fully respected.”