A South Sudanese policy analyst criticized the cabinet’s newly approved 7 trillion South Sudanese pound (SSP) budget on Saturday, saying it lacks clear priorities and was prepared without adequate consultation.
The Council of Ministers approved the 7 trillion SSP budget for the 2025/2026 fiscal year on Friday, an increase from a 5.2 trillion SSP draft that had been circulated weeks earlier.
Analyst Boboya James Edmond told Radio Tamazuj that pressure from observers and civil society groups prompted the government to recalculate the budget upward.
“The failure to pass the budget on time has contributed to the collapse of the economy and weakened both fiscal and monetary policy,” Boboya said, noting the fiscal year is already half over. He said the delay violated the country’s Constitution and Public Finance and Accountability Act.
He warned that without proper implementation and adherence to the law, the new budget would fail to improve the lives of ordinary citizens.
Spending and Revenge
Boboya said the budget should prioritize economic transformation through commercial agriculture, industrialization, and human capital development.
“The budget must emphasize improving health and education… so people can be productive,” he said.
He also stressed the need for infrastructure investment, particularly roads linking agricultural areas to markets, and increased funding for peace and security, which he said is essential for economic activity.
The analyst expressed concern over how the larger budget would be financed, cautioning that excessive taxation would “wipe out communities from businesses.” He said current tax pressures favor foreign traders over local South Sudanese entrepreneurs and called for youth- and women-friendly tax policies to promote job creation.
Execution Problems
Boboya noted that even when budgets are passed, government institutions in South Sudan often receive only a fraction of their allocated funds.
“Some institutions get just 2%, 5%, or 20% of their budgets. This is unconstitutional and weakens service delivery,” he said.
He criticized the government’s tendency to focus spending on salaries while neglecting operational costs and capital investments.
“You cannot pay salaries to people who have no projects to supervise. Government must fund real activities… so civil servants can actually do their work,” Boboya added.
He cited the frequent firing of finance ministers and central bank governors by the president as a sign the government was “searching for solutions in the wrong place.”