Lawmaker demands answers on delayed budget

JUBA – A South Sudan lawmaker has raised concerns about the delay in presenting the 2024-2025 national budget, urging Finance Minister Awow Daniel Chuong to address the Transitional National Legislative Assembly with a full explanation.

Joul Nhomngek Daniel, representing Cueibet County of Lakes State on the opposition Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-in-Opposition (SPLM-IO) ticket, pressed the issue during a parliamentary session on Wednesday chaired by Speaker Jemma Nunu Kumba.

“We are operating according to the law in this house,” Nhomngek said, referencing the assembly’s rules of conduct established by the South Sudanese constitution.

He argued that the established timeline for presenting the budget has been missed and demanded an explanation from the Minister.

“The financial year has begun today, and the budget is not even in place,” Nhomngek said, citing regulation 119 of the assembly’s conduct of business. “We would like to know what is the statement on this by the Minister of Finance.”

Nhomngek emphasized that South Sudan is lagging 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.

“We should be informed so that we can make a resolution to postpone the budget,” he said. “We cannot operate as if it is 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.”

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 Chuong recently presented a preliminary draft of the fiscal year 2024-2025 budget to the economic cluster, totaling 2.4 trillion South Sudanese pounds (SSP).

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.