The South Sudan government has increased work permit fees for foreigners from $100 to $10,000.

A joint a statement issued by Labour, Interior and Finance ministries in Juba said the move was aimed at generating additional revenues to fill the gap in the 2016/ 2017 national budget.

The statement classified the work permit fees under: professional or business, $10,000; blue class workers, $2,000; and casual workers, $1,000.

The entry visa charge was also raised to $100 from $50.

However, Kenyan and Ugandan nationals will pay $50 subject to monthly renewal.

The new fee begin this month.

South Sudan has been grappling with an economic crisis occasioned by the outbreak of war in 2013.

There were fears that the new charges would attract retaliatory measures from other countries against South Sudanese. 

But President Salva Kiir's spokesman Ateny Wek Ateny said the decision "driven by national interest" was not likely to attract a diplomatic backlash.

South Sudan depends entirely on its neighbours, particulary Uganda and Kenya, for her imports.

He also dismissed allegations that Juba wanted to clamp down on humanitarian workers.

"Any country in the world has a right to impose work permits on foreigners. If you can't pay $10,000, then you hire a local person instead," he said in Juba.

"Is there any country in the world that does not have regulation for foreigners?, he posed, adding that "the government of South Sudan was asleep and it has now woken up."