UN envoy says no public record for gov’t expenditure since 2017  

JUBA – South Sudan government has not made public its record of expenditure since over three years ago, according to the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and head of UN mission in South Sudan, David Shearer.

Currently, the international community is reluctant to fund the Reconstituted Transitional Government of National Unity (R-TGONU) because of slow implementation and lack of government transparency its budgeting.

Speaking to journalists on Wednesday in Juba, Shearer stressed the need for transparent government financial management system.

“The role of the Government in managing the country’s finances is pretty straightforward. Step one, account for the money coming into the country. Step two, account for how that money is spent,” he said.

“It’s a simple process, but what it requires and depends on is transparency and accountability. Every citizen of this country – as is the case with every other country in the world – has the right to know what is being earned by the state and what is being is spent on their behalf,” he added.

He said the government in Juba has not released any record of financial expenditure since 2017.

“That information is not available in South Sudan. There has been no public record of government expenditure since 2017,” he said.

President Salva Kiir Mayardit and main armed opposition leader, now the country’s first vice-president, Dr. Riek Machar Teny signed a revitalized version of a 2015 peace agreement in 2018.

The peace deal mediated in Sudan provides for economic reforms which may help fix the country’s embattled economy.