Kiir orders allocation of oil proceeds to pay salaries

President Salva Kiir Mayardit has directed the Ministry of Finance and Planning to allocate revenues from Blocks 3 and 7 in the Upper Nile region to be used to clear salary arrears and support essential government operations.
President Salva Kiir Mayardit, (Left) and Peter Lam Both, (Right) SPLM Secretary General, holding document on Thursday at the SPLM House in Juba (Photo by courtesy)

By Awan Achiek

President Salva Kiir Mayardit has directed the Ministry of Finance and Planning to allocate revenues from Blocks 3 and 7 in the Upper Nile region to be used to clear salary arrears and support essential government operations.

 Kiir, who is also the Chairperson of the Sudan’s People Liberation Movement (SPLM), issued these directives during the party’s meeting held at SPLM House in Juba on Thursday.

The move aims to address delays in the payment of salaries of government employees who so far gone for nearly 12 months without salary.

Peter Lam Both, SPLM Secretary General, said President Kiir ordered the Ministry of Finance to prioritize timely payment of civil servants salaries.

“The rest of the resources, oil revenue resources from blocks 3 and 7, will have to be used for salaries and for government operations,” Lam told State broadcaster (SSBC).

Lam said the President’s order also called for close supervision of funds allocated for infrastructure projects, a sector often plagued by mismanagement.

“The meeting has also given directive on the management of the petroleum resources that all the resources that are designated for infrastructure will have to be supervised,” he said.

“The chairman has given strict directives to the party and all the cadres that are working in the government that, number one, the salaries of South Sudanese people must immediately be found and be paid to them,” Lam added.

He said the party’s chairman underscored the importance of improving revenue collection and eliminating illegal tax exemptions.

“The collection of revenues, especially non-oil revenues, must be done in accordance with the law that no one is above the law; subsidies and tax exemptions that have been applied illegally must immediately be stopped forthwith,” said Lam.

President Kiir emphasized the need for transparency and accountability in handling public funds, according to Lam.

“We want to assure you that the SPLM has taken this issue very seriously. Despite the challenges that the country is going through, the SPLM will make sure that the rights of the people of South Sudan are given to them,” he said.

On January 7, the Minister of Petroleum, Puot Kang Chol announced the restart of oil production in Blocks 3 and 7, which will transported through Port Sudan after production halted in February due to gelling within pipeline and insecurity due to the ongoing conflict in neighboring Sudan.

The Ministry of Finance recently paid civil servants salary of January.

The government depends on oil proceeds to pay salaries and finance other development projects. 

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