Lomuro says government will dip deep into coffers to fund 2026 elections

By Awan Achiek

The Minister of Cabinet Affairs Dr. Martin Elia Lomuro has revealed that the transitional unity government will contribute the majority of funds to prepare the 2026 general elections.

“The bulk of the funding must be internally generated. They are saying most of the money must come from us. Although this has been the case, just reiteration,” Lomuro said on Wednesday during the meeting of the Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (RJMEC) in Juba.

Lomuro said the improvement in domestic revenue mobilization is critical to ensure the government is able to carry out its statutory obligations.

He said the government has already put in place measures to generate funds, adding that donors will only chip in to monitor accountability of the funds.

“The following is therefore recommended to showcase government’s seriousness in resourcing the implementation of the agreement. One, to tap into all the resources of income that we can master,” he said.

Lomuro said they will adopt austerity measures including cutting down on infrastructure projects to generate resources to run elections.

“We’ll implement strict and prompt accountability measures on dealing with finance and with these measures in place, we are confident we can confidently approach the community to provide assistance and hope to get a positive response,” he disclosed.

Yar Manoa, the business representative in the Reconstituted Joint Monitoring Evaluation Commission called for an audit into donor funds received by the government to implement the 2018 peace agreement.

“There was no auditing done with the Auditor General. We didn’t hear it in this plenary. Today, you were talking about figures, a lot of money being spent in the last years but still you gave us new figures amounting to billions of dollars,” Manoa said.

She called for prudent management and utilization of funds meant for the implementation of the 2018 peace pact.

“You have failed this time around to give us how much money was spent in the last three years. You asked for an extension of the roadmap and we gave you, but you didn’t provide accountability for the funds,” Manoa said.