Jonglei State Deputy Governor Atong Kuol Manyang Juuk on Friday disputed the monthly budget breakdown released by Governor Mahjoub Biel Turuk in Juba on Thursday.
In an interesting twist, Juuk held a press conference this afternoon, accusing Governor Turuk of acting ‘inconsistent with the spirit of the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ACRSS) as he always makes unilateral decisions without consulting the stakeholders in relation to The State Personal Income Tax (PIT)’.
“Frankly speaking, the two bank statements provided by the Governor to the press are incorrect. Comparatively, the right figures from reliable sources from June 1 – December 6, 2024, received by Jonglei State, tuned to $542,097 at Cooperative Bank (02200001042001) and $1,142,397.00 at Ecobank (6940033413), totaling to $1,684,494, making an average of $336,898.80 per month.
“But it is also believed that the State PIT is over $450,000 as there are other unknown banks where money is being channeled to. However, the Deputy Governor (chief administrator) and the State Minister of Finance (custodian) do not have access to the State transactions and financial statements,” Juk said.
“Pertaining to the Deputy Governor’s two cars rent, they have not been paid for seven months and so are other claims such as house rent and support. Furthermore, the Governor mentioned that he pays for six advisors but the State has only five who were officially appointed,” she added.
Juuk said the PIT accounts were being managed by people assigned by the Governor, including Mach Yak Dau Rial, who works with the Ministry of Higher Education, and John Kim Chuol, the Nyirol County Coordinator and John Okot Mathiew of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) at the State Coordination office.
“The Governor mentioned the amount of $60,000 for security of which $27,000 is for 75 troops stationed at Biothagany. This statement surprised those in charge and raised a concern as to who he gives this money?” Juk posed.
She said the block transfer from the National Ministry of Finance to the State account at the Central Bank, does not reach the destination due to the interferences by the Governor.
Juuk, who is the daughter of the senior presidential advisor Gen. Kuol Manyang, accused Governor Turuk of lack of transparency and for singlehandedly mismanaging the State resources in the bank.
“At the Ministry of Finance, the State Coordination office in Juba and in his house where millions of pounds and thousands of dollars are kept, taking away the role of the State Ministry of Finance as he acts as the Minister, the director for revenues, chief administrator, and governor. He has not clarified why he submitted an incomplete financial report of November 01-22 to the media and intentionally omitted the other six months that he has been the governor of Jonglei,” she said.
She said the Governor was always intimidating political leaders through suspension, withholding financial support, denying them mobility and accommodations, and the civil servants have been deprived their rights by being treated based on their political allegiance.
Juuk called on the Upper House of Parliament and the Council of States to rescue the situation in Jonglei, by exercising their oversight roles. She appealed to the Audit Chamber to exercise their mandate and audit the financial management in Jonglei starting from June to December of 2024.
Radio Tamazuj, however, could not independently verify the two documents of the Personal Income Tax released by both the Governor and his Deputy.
South Sudan faces considerable governance challenges; it regularly ranks at or near the bottom of international corruption indices.
According to reports, corruption in the world’s youngest nation is systemic across all levels of government and pervades nearly every economic sector, and perpetrators enjoy widespread impunity.
In recent months, South Sudan has faced challenges as civil servants, including teachers and doctors, have gone on strike, demanding salary arrears.