The Transitional National Legislative Assembly (TNLA) has said that the third reading of the 2023/24 fiscal year budget is set to take place next Monday.
John Agany Deng, Chairperson for the Information Committee in the RTNLA, told Radio Tamazuj Friday that the delay in tabling the budget was due to the technical intricacies involved, aimed at minimizing errors.
Agany stated, “You cannot pass the budget with critical mistakes. Clerical mistakes can be corrected by any office bearer without affecting necessarily the figure that has been put forward. But if it is a clear mistake that can cause the distortion of ideas and also alignment, then you need to sit and align it again.”
Agany went on to reveal that the specialized committees within the parliament are in the final stages of budget preparation and are poised to present it to lawmakers on Monday. He emphasized, “We have already reached the final stage, maybe up to Monday. We are now following to the last stage and the agenda has already been distributed today, and definitely, we will have the weekend for the Honourable members to have their copies and read it over the weekend. On Monday, it will be tabled. If there is anything at all which will cause any delay, it has not been brought to my attention up to now.”
Regarding the ongoing dispute over land between the Reconstituted Transitional National Legislative Assembly and Christ Church Nakasongola, Agany provided several arguments.
He asserted, “The issue of the court case about the land in question was handled by a competent court and the verdict was clear. The church was asked to vacate the land and an order was issued for their structure on the land to be demolished. The court went through all the papers and decided that the land belongs to the national legislative assembly and that was the judgment of the court.”
He further clarified, “When battles between the assembly and the church started, the Rt. Hon. Speaker Nunu Kumba and I were not involved. Nunu Kumba was not a speaker and I was only an ordinary member of the national parliament. The case was raised without our involvement.”
Agany questioned the involvement of the assembly’s leadership in the land dispute, stating, “The case was handled by the administration of the assembly. The legal advisor and accounting officers in parliament at the time were responsible for this case. Where and how did Speaker Nunu Kumba and I get involved?”
He also accused the leadership of Christ Church Nakasongola of being the real land grabbers, saying, “These people are the real land grabbers. If there are real land grabbers in South Sudan, the leadership of Christ Church Nakasongola are the real land grabbers. How can land that has already been allocated to a national legislative assembly after the 1972 Addis Ababa Agreement be claimed by another person?”