South Sudan finance minister to table fiscal budget to cabinet on Friday

JUBA – South Sudan’s finance minister, Awow Daniel Chuang, has said that he will table the 2024-2025 fiscal budget before the cabinet on Friday for approval.

Awow told lawmakers during an ordinary sitting on Tuesday that the budget has already been passed by the economic cluster chaired by Vice President James Wani and awaits tabling in cabinet before it goes to the parliament.

“So, it was delayed because there was no Council of Ministers last week, that’s why it was not passed. So, this week maybe it will be passed and then we are going to bring it to the House,” Awow said.

He said they have already suspended payments to government spending agencies, marking it official closure of the fiscal year budget for 2023-2024.

“And then the closure of the financial year, because this is automatic, it happens automatically, because when the financial year closes, all these books must be closed,” he said.

He said he has written to President Salva Kiir Mayardit requesting him to reopen the old budget for the government to run.

“And then we will also seek exemptions for us to run. We will seek exemptions for us to run before the new budget is passed, because we cannot also close it and then continue to be closed,” he said.

“So, this is the process that we have already started, and I think it will be done. We have already solved that as well. So, I think the budget will open before this one, it will continue.”

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.

Awow 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.