EAC lawmakers seek competent candidates to take up South Sudan’s job lots

“We did not have competent and qualified people to participate in the short listing and selection.” Dr. Anne Itto, the chairperson of the South Sudan Chapter

By Winnie Cirino.

Arusha, Tanzania: A South Sudanese lawmaker at the East African Community Parliament in Arusha, Tanzania has asked the ministry of East African Affairs in South Sudan to send competent citizens to take up jobs that are reserved for nationals at the EAC Secretariat.

South Sudan has the least number of candidates shortlisted for jobs in the EAC Secretariat while Tanzania, the host, has the highest. Last year, Tanzania had 83, Kenya had 73, Rwanda and Uganda had 53, Burundi had 35 and South

Sudan had only 14 people shortlisted to take up these job opportunities at the East African Community. Unfortunately, these people end up not getting hired because they don’t meet the qualification standards required to work at the EAC Secretariat in Tanzania.

In an Exclusive Interview with The Insider, Dr. Anne Itto, the chairperson of the South Sudan Chapter says demand officials in South Sudan’s East African Ministry send competent people who understand how the East African Community system works, something she says cost South Sudan in the last recruitment process.

“We did not have competent and qualified people to participate in the short listing and selection.”

“We really advise that the ministry of the East African Affairs should really follow this process properly and make sure that they send competent people, people who understand the staff rules and regulations, they understand the quarter system to make sure that they sit together with other partner states to make sure the process is just and that South Sudan also gets its rights out of it.” Dr. Itto told The Insider in Arusha.

Last week South Sudanese lawmakers boycotted the assembly’s sittings after

raising concerns about what they said where irregularities in the recruitment of

employees in the EAC secretariat. A situation that saw job lots reserved for South Sudanese given to MPs from Tanzania whose positions were filled up already.

The EAC council of ministers called all the chairpersons of the different chapters representing the East African member states to brief them on the sensitivity of the matter and it can be resolved amicably without causing divisions in the East African Community.

EAC Lawmakers at the assembly voted Tuesday in favor of referring the case to the EAC Council of Ministers. Dr. Itto who attended the council of ministers meeting said suspending the recruitment process will help South Sudan reclaim its positions after the regional parliament’s decision to suspend job recruitment at the East African Community Secretariat, a decision South Sudanese lawmakers welcomed with pleasure.  

Kim Gai Ruot, a South Sudanese lawmaker in the East African Legislative

Assembly, says he is happy the recruitment process was suspended, because if it

were to continue, South Sudan would not get any top positions.

An affirmative action for South Sudan, just as it was done for Burundi and Rwanda in 2007 would be the best option, according to Ruot.

There 17 institutions headed by the executive director and deputy director, if an

the affirmative action is applied on those positions, then South Sudanese candidates will be allocated certain institutions to lead without any competition from their East African counterparts,

This can be made clear in the Clause 5 of the EAC Quarter System that South Sudan takes the health Care System in Bujumbura, for instance. This way only eligible South Sudanese will apply for these positions, Ruot believes

“This means we are not going to compete with other partner states. Our quarter system should be given to us as South Sudanese, we’re not going to compete with others.”

“if South Sudan is not given that position, we’ll petition to the

parliament again and again and again.” Ruot vows.

For Mukulia Kennedy Ayason, also a South Sudan member of the East African

Legislative Assembly, “If they don’t address our issue, we (shall) bring back this motion and it will be the first motion to be considered under our rules of procedure 17.”

This regional representation is a matter of regional importance. The case has been moved under our rules procedure, rule 30L, which dictates that any matter of regional importance is addressed first.

“We cannot proceed to hear reports that don’t matter to the people of East Africa, but rather issues that matter (to) East Africans.” Ayason said, advising competent citizens to be on the lookout so that once the recruitment process is re-opened, they can apply.

The lawmakers vow to defend candidates who meet the required qualifications and competency for the South Sudanese job slots at the EAC Secretariat, once something fishy happens in the recruitment process.