The council of ministers on Friday approved a proposed budget of about South Sudanese Pounds (SSP) 2.5 trillion for the fiscal year 2023/2024.
Addressing journalists shortly after the cabinet meeting, the Minister for Information and Communication, Michael Makuei Lueth said the proposed budget has a deficit of about SSP 825.3 billion.
“What we have at present is a sum of about SSP 2.5 trillion as a budget which he (finance minister) has proposed and in that budget we have a deficit of SSP 825.3,” he said. “After thorough deliberations, the (finance) minister was given the necessary support on how best he could raise the deficit. The proposal was approved and thereafter the finance minister was directed to go and put it in the budgetary form because this is just the amount that he proposed.”
“So, he (finance minister) was directed to go and put it in a budgetary form with the line institutions after which he will present it again for consideration,” Makuei added.
The information minister revealed that the government is working hard to ensure that the budget process is completed and comes into effect on 1 July.
“It is worth mention that this new budget includes the new salary structure and the finance minister has to do it before the end of April and present it to us for consideration so that by May it goes to the National Legislative Assembly for consideration so that the budget of this year will be effective from 1 July unlike the current budget which was passed just six months ago,” he revealed.
South Sudan`s fiscal year runs from 1 July to 30 June the next year, however, the country has on many occasions not met the timelines as required by law.
The current running budget for 2022/2023 was approved by the parliament last September, nearly three months into the fiscal year.