S. Sudan Cabinet approves over SSP 22bn annual budget

October 1, 2016 (JUBA) – The South Sudanese cabinet on Friday approved a 22bn South Sudanese pounds budget for the 2016 and 2017 fiscal years.

The Council of Ministers deliberated on the budget after it was presented by finance minister, Stephen Dhieu Dau following weeks of thorough discussions on how it was spent by individuals and institutions before it is taken to the cabinet for more scrutiny and approval by the executive.

The budget will now be presented to the transitional national legislative assembly for deliberations at legislative level.

This year’s budget, compared to last year’s budget which was over 10 billion Pounds, has doubled.

South Sudan’s Minister of Cabinet Affairs, Martin Elia Lumoro told reporters in the capital, Juba that differences in the budget was dictated by projects and programs.

He said peace implementation and new institutions like new ministries, which were created, like the office of the first vice president and the ministry of federal affairs require a budget to boost their establishments.

Lumoro did not, however, reveal which areas or sectors have been prioritized in the budget, although security and defense sectors continue to lead in the order of prioritization in the budget, taking up to 40% of the money.

The budget was initially proposed at 29.6 billion South Sudanese pounds.

(ST)