South Sudan Suspended from African Union over Failure to Pay $9m Membership Debt

Obiajulu Joel Nwolu

The African Union (AU) has suspended South Sudan from the continental body over failure to meet up with their financial obligations over a three-year period amounting to over 9 million U.S. dollars.

The suspension was confirmed in a letter from South Sudan’s mission to Ethiopia to the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday attributing it to failure to pay its membership dues for three consecutive years.

Hakim Edward, deputy Foreign Affairs Spokesperson, noted that the suspension does not totally invalidate South Sudan’s membership but would only exempt it from meetings until the debts are paid. South Sudan has been a member of AU from July 2011.

In a statement last week, Edward said, “We would like to confirm to the public that South Sudan is one of the countries that have been sanctioned by the AU due to lack of yearly financial contributions.”

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs would like to assure the public that it is coordinating with the ministry of finance to resolve the matter not only with the AU but with other regional bodies,” he added.

Eye Radio, a media outlet in South Sudan revealed through broadcasts that the country’s debts are not limited to AU but spans across regional, international and global bodies it signed up to. The country equally owes 24 million dollars to East African Community which it belongs to.

South Sudan joined African Union on 27 July 2011, after separating from Sudan on 9 July 2011, making it the 54th member of the body.

Source: African News

 

 

This post was written by Obiajulu Joel Nwolu.

The views expressed here belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect our views and opinions.

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