Salva Kiir urges additional aid to Sudan least developed states
May 19, 2007 (KHARTOUM) — First Vice President Salva Kiir Mayardit has called for additional aid to help the least developed states in the fiscal and financial fields in order to explore new further sources of revenue, in building local capacities and identifying private investment opportunities in line with the 5-year National Strategic Plan (2007-2011).
He commended the criteria set by the Commission for allocation of revenues among the states. Salva Kiir said the comprehensive periodical reports made by the Commission reflected the serious work the Commission had been doing in the past year with the help of the Technical Secretariat and the National Panel of Experts.
Salva Kiir added that the Commissions’ recommendations to the Presidency and the National Legislature regarding the vertical allocation of annual revenues to the Government of National Unity and the criteria the Commission set for their allocation among states had been a real breakthrough in the operationalization of the Wealth Sharing Agreement and a historic landmark in Sudan’s fiscal life.
According to SUNA, the Fist Vice-President further said that this manner of revenue sharing and allocation shall insure that fiscal and financial resources are directed to the people at the grass roots level and it is only at that level that we shall seriously start to combat poverty and attain Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
He pointed out that the recommendations of the Commission reflects a high level of awareness of its national responsibility, calling on the FFANC to develop cooperation and ensure coordination with all levels and units of Government, especially the Ministry of Finance and National Economy which shoulders the heavy burden of running the national economy.
Salva Kiir expressed at the outset of his speech happiness to address the meeting of the commission on its first anniversary, expressing the gratification of the Government of National Unity to see that the instruments created to consolidate peace and national unity not only working in earnest, but also asserting themselves in the political and economic life of the country.
The Minister of Finance and National Economy, Al-Zubair Ahmed Hassan, on his part, affirmed that the Fiscal and Financial Allocation and Monitoring Commission is considered as an advanced stage in implementation of the Peace Agreement, pointing out that the vertical and horizontal distribution made is a positive indicator for decentralization and giving additional resources to the levels of government.
Meanwhile, Chairman of FFAMC Ibrahim Moneim Mansour affirmed in his speech that the Commission did its utmost during the past year to prepare the necessary studies and reach recommendations acceptable to the Presidency and to the federal parliament regarding the formula for allocation of revenues between the national government and the states and the criteria for distribution of funds among the states.
He pointed out that the commission is a fruit of the CPA, Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) and the East Sudan Peace Agreement (EPA), expressing thanks to the Sudanese panel of experts for their efforts.
He expressed thanks to the representatives of the National Government and the Government of Southern Sudan together with the Ministers of Finance of the twenty five States for their responsible attitudes towards the findings and final recommendations of allocations and directives in monitoring.
(ST)