We South Sudanese pride ourselves in our ardent belief in equality of opportunities and this belief was one of the reasons among others that caused the protracted war that was resolved by partitioning the country.
However, the problem our people fought successfully to eliminate is rearing its ugly head presently. It seems our "benefactors": Non-governmental Organizations, chief among them the United Nations Mission in South Sudan have taken the mantle of discrimination from where they north left it off. These entities have created a sub-category of employment referred to as “national" where they fit any person of South Sudanese origin regardless of his/her qualifications or the passport he/she holds.
Amazingly, Kenyans and Ethiopians qualify for the perks allotted to the so called expatriates at the expense of South Sudanese, some of whom are graduates from the same universities as Kenyans who are preferred by our “benefactors”. This binary of nationals versus expatriates is creating uncalled for marginalization of south Sudanese, because it confines them to the lowest end of pay-scale as well as limiting their advance career-wise.
And wait a minute; what makes this issue interesting is that it is actually sanctioned by South Sudanese politicians who seem to have imbibed the narrative of South Sudanese as unskilled. I have not heard of any politician who has been quoted in the media questioning the basis of consigning the talented Southerners to the so called national category in the NGOs’ employment. This silence presupposes approval of this repugnant practice that prevents south Sudanese from being hired at the level commensurate with their skills.
It is high time that the government of the Republic of South engages its partners in the NGO world to end this discriminatory practice. No rational government would ever condone the marginalization of its citizens.
