The Lakes State Legislative Assembly yesterday recommended that the prison service officers who were demoted after the reintegration of SPLA forces early last year be paid their salaries in full according to the ranks they held before the downsizing.
Earlier some officers from the police services rioted when the authorities refused to pay their salaries and the state legislative assembly formed a commission to investigate the root causes for the mutiny.MP Daniel Gumwell, who presented the findings to the House, told Good News Radio that the prison officers were appointed to fill up vacancies in the prison service in 2006 because there was a budget but no qualified personnel to fill in the positions.
He revealed that the officers were later demoted and their salaries reduced in order for the prison service budget to accommodate demobilized SPLA forces.
Mr. Gumwell said the assembly endorsed the recommendation by the three-member committee that the officers should be paid salary arrears in full and promoted to solve the heightened tension at the prison service which began in October.
The legislators called on the Governor to forward the recommendation to the national Government in Juba.
Mr. Gumwell revealed that the method used to demote established officers in Lakes State was different from the one used in the other nine states.
He added that the pay roll of the demoted officers in Lakes State remained the same in Juba records, however, and the officers are taking home less money.
He said that after the salaries have been settled in Lakes State, the remaining amount was taken back to Juba for unknown reasons.
The committee was charged with the task to probe into the shootout which took place at the prison service October 8 after the officers discovered that the State Director was receiving instructions from the Director General in Juba not to pay them their full salaries because they were already demoted.
More than 20 established officers were demoted and since the time of their demotion they have outstanding arrears to the tune of more than a half a million South Sudanese pounds.