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Famine-hit South Sudan rebuked over move to raise fees for aid workers
Source: The Guardian
Famine-hit South Sudan rebuked over move to raise fees for aid workers
Aid agencies condemn mooted hundredfold increase in cost
of permits despite earlier promise to allow ‘unimpeded access’
to 100,000 starving people
Karen McVeigh
Thursday 9 March 2017 07.49 GMT
Aid agencies say they are urgently seeking clarity from the South Sudanese government after it signalled that it would ramp up the cost of work permits for foreign aid workers, days after a famine was declared in the country.
Aid groups said the move by the labour ministry to increase the cost of permits from $100 to up to $10,000 (£8,230) was “terrible timing” in a country where 100,000 people are starving and a further 1 million are on the brink of starvation.
Last week, the president of South Sudan promised “unimpeded access” to all aid organisations after famine was declared in parts of the country.
The fee increase, introduced in a memorandum, applies to all foreign workers in the country and is aimed at increasing government revenue, the minister of information, Michael Makuei, told Associated Press.
[font size=1]-snip-[/font]
Aid agencies condemn mooted hundredfold increase in cost
of permits despite earlier promise to allow ‘unimpeded access’
to 100,000 starving people
Karen McVeigh
Thursday 9 March 2017 07.49 GMT
Aid agencies say they are urgently seeking clarity from the South Sudanese government after it signalled that it would ramp up the cost of work permits for foreign aid workers, days after a famine was declared in the country.
Aid groups said the move by the labour ministry to increase the cost of permits from $100 to up to $10,000 (£8,230) was “terrible timing” in a country where 100,000 people are starving and a further 1 million are on the brink of starvation.
Last week, the president of South Sudan promised “unimpeded access” to all aid organisations after famine was declared in parts of the country.
The fee increase, introduced in a memorandum, applies to all foreign workers in the country and is aimed at increasing government revenue, the minister of information, Michael Makuei, told Associated Press.
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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2017/mar/09/famine-south-sudan-move-raise-fees-aid-workers
