![Oyet Nathaniel, first deputy speaker of parliament and deputy chair of SPLM-IO speaks to journalists during a press conference held in Juba on Sunday, 23 July 2023 [Photo by Sudans Post]](https://i0.wp.com/www.sudanspost.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/image-1.jpg?resize=1024%2C541&quality=89&ssl=1)
Last month, the country’s finance minister Dier Tong Ngor tabled the 2023/2024 fiscal year budget, which amounted to SSP2 trillion, before the revitalized transitional parliament with a deficit of SSP267 billion.
The draft budget increased salaries of civil servants, military, and members of organized forces by 400 percent as promised by President Salva Kiir last year.
Speaking to journalists during a press conference at the group’s headquarters in Juba on Sunday, Oyet Nathaniel, SPLM-IO deputy chair and first deputy speaker of parliament, said the proposed 400 percent increase of salaries is not enough to cope with current market prices.
“The Caucus, therefor, approves that increment of the salaries and wages of civil servants, military and organized forces beyond the 400 percent as contained in the fiscal year 2023-2024 budget second reading report by chairperson of Economic Cluster of the Transitional National Legislature,” he said
The outspoken Oyet called for allocation of funds to electronic payroll system in order to clear ghost-names.
“So, this is the only financial year that is left for us to execute most of the required tasks as far as elections are concerned and also implementation of the agreement and roadmap is concerned,” he said.
He said the budget has also not allocated funds for security arrangement, permanent constitution making process, repatriation, and resettlement of refugees, and IDPs and other requisite for conduct of elections.
Oyet called on the minister of finance to come out with supplementary budget to cover critical tasks that have not been budgeted in this year’s financial budget.
“The Caucus urges the Ministry of Finance and Planning to cause without delay a supplementary budget in the fiscal year 2023-2024 budget for following critical pending tasks of the Revitalized Agreement for timely conduct of free, fair, credible and democratic elections such as security arrangements, repatriation and resettlement of refugees, and IDPs, population census, permanent constitution making process, transitional justice process and process of elections,” he said.
Oyet said failure to allocate resources for implementation of critical tasks such as population census, permanent constitution making process, transitional justice process and process of elections may affect the roadmap including the elections.
