South Sudan's English Daily Newspaper
"We Dare where others fear"
By Awan Achiek
The Minister of Finance and Planning on Monday suspended payments to government spending agencies as it closed the fiscal year budget for 2023-2024.
The unprecedented halting of payment will pave way for a new budget which is yet to be tabled in parliament.
Malual Tap Dieu, the First Undersecretary for Finance, announced the suspension of payments following the Public Financial Management and Accountability Act (PFMAA-2011) of the Republic of South Sudan.
“As you are well aware, the Fiscal Year 2023-2024 officially ends on June 30, 2024,” Mr. Tap stated in a press release on Monday.
It said the ministry will not process new claims until the 2024-2025 budget is passed by the Transitional National Legislative Assembly and receives legal assent by President Salva Kiir.
“Therefore, the Ministry of Finance and Planning hereby informs all spending agencies and the general public that all payments will be suspended until further notice.”
South Sudan lags behind its East African Community (EAC) partners—Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and Burundi—who have already presented their annual budgets, adhering to an established regional tradition.
Finance Minister Awow Daniel Chuang recently presented a preliminary draft of the fiscal year 2024-2025 budget, to the economic cluster, totaling 2.4 trillion South Sudanese pounds.
The government projects that its annual revenue will cover approximately SSP 1.7 trillion of the budget, leaving a deficit of 742.9 billion.
While details of the draft remain undisclosed, the finance minister revealed that 10 percent will be allocated to the agricultural sector, recognizing it as a vital pillar of the economy.
Joul Nhomngek Daniel, lawmaker representing Cueibet County of Lakes State on SPLM-IO requested the Minister of Finance to inform the house on the fate of the 2024-2025 budget.
“We cannot operate as normal. The East African countries have already made their own budget. This is the procedure I wanted to make. We need to know what is the fate of the budget of 2024-2025,” Nhomngek said during parliamentary sitting on Monday.
He said according to regulation 119 of conduct of business regulation, the financial year has begun on 1st June 2024 and the budget is not even in place.
We are operating according to the law in this house. We have the conduct of business which is the constitution of this house, mandated by the constitution of the Republic of South Sudan.
