Kenyans to lose jobs in South Sudan

Thousands of Kenyans working in South Sudan are at risk of losing their jobs following a directive by the South Sudanese Government to prohibit employment of foreigners.

The Government has given all private companies including foreign aid agencies and non-government organisations one month's notice to terminate employment of all non-South Sudanese workers.

The directive by the Ministry of Labour prohibits and intends to regulate the services and employment of foreigners in certain positions in the private sector, ordering their replacement with locals.

The institutions have been ordered to advertise the positions of executive directors, personnel managers, secretaries and head of human resource departments. Kenya’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs is expected to issue a statement today that will determine the fate of the Kenyan workers.

Contacted yesterday evening, South Sudan’s ambassador to Kenya, Mariano D Ngor, denied that they were kicking out foreign workers, saying their Parliament had only passed new requirements to ensure that locals were given priority in investment an