The South Sudan government plans to close at least 39 overseas embassies due to financial constraints.

Mr Mawien Makol, the spokesman for the Foreign Affairs Ministry, told local media Juba is finding it difficult to manage most embassies abroad.

“We thought of closing a number of embassies so that we can manage the remaining ones well,” Mr Makol said, as quoted by The Dawn newspaper in Juba.

He said the decision for the closure will be effected soon.

On May 16, Juba announced it had sacked 40 overseas diplomats for not showing up for work, some of them for years.

The young nation that heavily relies on oil revenue to fund its national projects, became an independent state in 2011 following a referendum that favoured its separation from Sudan.

Economic troubles began after the outbreak of civil war in 2013, as oil production declined and inflation hit.  Rampant corruption and political instability have also been blamed for the country's financial woes.

by the Eastafrican