The Central Equatoria State Transitional Legislative Assembly on Monday finally passed its budget for the fiscal year 2023/2024.
The budget resource envelope which amounts to SSP 33,813, 674,726 aims to address various expenditures, including salaries and wages, use of goods and services, capital expenditure, and other related costs, respectively.
Wages and salaries take the lion’s share of the total budget amounting to SSP 20,614,915,468 (60.1 percent), followed by use of goods and services 7,353,643,117 (21.7 percent), capital expenditure constitutes SSP 5,221.030875 (15.4 percent), while transfers to counties amounts to 624,085,266 (2.8 percent).
Morris Anderia Lupe, the deputy chairperson of the parliament’s information committee, said the budget which was originally SSP 20,190,694,751, shot up to 33.8 billion after the state finance ministry submitted a supplementary budget for civil servants’ salaries following a salary increment for civil servants and the army.
Addressing the media after the session, Lupe attributed the delay in passing the budget to its late tabling by the finance ministry nearly six months after the commencement of the fiscal year.
“The delay of the budget is because it was submitted during Christmas when the members were going for a break,” he stated. “The second issue for the delay is that the budget was tabled nearly six months after the commencement of this fiscal year 2023/2024.”
The lawmaker said that despite the challenges encountered by the members, including lack of salary for six months, the August House finally managed to pass the budget.
Last December during the budget presentation, Viana Kakuli, the state’s finance minister said the budget would be financed through grants from the national government grants and revenues collected by the state.
According to Lupe, passing the budget will ensure that the state government executes its plans for 2023/2024.
Meanwhile, Wani Tom Sebit, the state minister of trade and Industry, commended the state parliament for passing the budget, saying the three arms of the government are normally there to support one another.
“Without parliament, the executive may not know which direction to go and that is why the House is the voice of the people that can give the executive direction,” he said. “I am happy with the spirit of the members today by showing up to at least pass the budget.”