![South Sudan information minister and government spokesman Michael Makuei Lueth speaking in an interview with Eye Radio [Photo: screen-grab from interview with Eye Radio]](https://i0.wp.com/www.sudanspost.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Michael-Makuei-Lueth-.png?quality=80&ssl=1)
Speaking to journalists following a weekly cabinet meeting shared by President Salva Kiir, Makuei who is also the government spokesman said the world’s youngest country was suspended after the ministry of foreign affairs failed to remit the country’s annual contribution to the regional bloc.
“We have exactly been suspended from IGAD simply because we have not paid our dues and there are so many vacancies about 14 of them which are supposed to be our positions,” Makuei told journalists.
“We are unable to occupy them simply because we have not paid our dues for long,” the senior government official who failed to reveal the exact amount the country owes to the regional body, added.
He said newly-appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Mayiik Ayii Deng, has asked the cabinet to direct for payment of the membership fees as the country has a lot of positions given to it at the regional body.
“There was a resolution passed about three weeks ago directing the all the arrears of Foreign Affairs and all our dues in all organizations should be paid by the Ministry of Finance,” he said.
He said the cabinet has now redirected the foreign minister to meet with his finance counterpart to discuss how to pay these membership arrears so that the country benefit from the positions allocated to it by the IGAD.
“After thorough deliberation, it was decided that the minister of Foreign Affairs discuss all these with the new minister of finance so that they can find a way forward in order to pay all the outstanding arrears so that the government and people of South Sudan can benefit from these positions,” he said.
