South Sudan accuses Uganda of document forgery
WAAKHE SIMON JUBA, SOUTH SUDAN – Aug 17 2011 19:56South Sudan said on Wednesday that fake college degrees, most of them from Uganda, were posing a critical challenge to the development of Africa’s newest state.
The ministry of public service said it had confiscated 20 forged documents from South Sudanese who presented fake college degrees from Uganda when applying for government positions in South Sudan.
"Uganda is the one killing this country. Because most of the forged documents we are getting now, 90% are coming from Uganda," Daniel Anyuon, a senior recruitment official at the ministry, said in Juba.
Applicants, he said, presented forged degrees and diplomas from Makerere School of Business and Kampala International University in Uganda.
The "dangerous" phenomenon of forgery, he said, is compromising South Sudan’s efforts to build a state from scratch.
Five weeks after South Sudan’s declaration of independence, a shortage of skilled labor is proving a major obstacle in the fledgling nation’s path to development.
Public Minister Awut Deng said last October that she had laid off over 10 000 ghost workers who were on her pay roll.
The ministry of education said in July that 73% of South Sudan’s population is illiterate.
Anyuon said the discovery of forged documents has prompted the government to develop strategies to tackle the problem.
"It’s much too dangerous because when you accumulate unskilled and unqualified workers in an industry… there will be no efficient work output," he said.
He called on holders of foreign documents to get them certified.
"If you are coming from Uganda, go to the ministry of foreign affairs … and get your document stamped to certify that it is from a recognised university." — AFP
http://mg.co.za/article/2011-08-17-south-sudan-accuses-uganda-of-document-forgery/
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