South Sudan opposition MPs boycott budget discussions
August 11, 2023 (JUBA) – South Sudan opposition groups on Friday walked out of a parliament debate on the national budget over government proposal to limit pay rise for men and women in the army, police and security services.
Lawmakers from the armed opposition movement (SPLM-IO) and South Sudan Opposition Alliance (SSOA) demanded for a 100% pay rises for the country’s civil servants and service men and women in the military, police and security forces.
The boycott was led by the deputy speaker in the national assembly, Oyet Nathaniel Pierino and the Council is States assembly speaker, Deng Deng Akoon.
The walk-out from the assembly came after the lawmakers failed to reach consensus on whether to agree on the view of the opposition or what the parties allying to the ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) advocated for.
The two opposition legislators attributed the cause of walking out to a decision of the country’s ruling party and its alliance in the house to maintain a proposal raising pay rise to 400% against their proposal to raise the pay beyond the 400%.
The two legislators further explained that they agreed to withdraw from the parliamentary debate after conducting a thorough discussion on Thursday.
“The SPLM-IO parliamentary caucus held a consultative meeting on Thursday 10th August 2023 to deliberate on the letter of appeal by the minister of finance and planning, Hon. Dr. Bak Barnaba Chol, urging the legislature to approve increment of 400% of wages and salaries as presented by the former minister of finance and planning, Hon. Dr.Dier Tong Ngor in the first reading of the fiscal year 2023-2024 budget,” the opposition’s statement reads in part.
It added, “After extensive deliberations, the caucus resolved to reject the appeal of finance and planning and reaffirms its position to adopt scenario 4, model 3 on salaries and wages increment beyond 400% as contained in the parliamentary report of the committee on finance and planning in the second and third reading stages of the fiscal year 2023-2024 budget”.
The speaker of the Revitalized Transitional National Legislative Assembly (RTNLA), Jemma Nunu Kumba described the opposition protest as “politically expedient”.
“We are not against increasing pay for our civil servants and our soldiers. If there is anyone who cares, it is us and this was the reason we were the first to raise the issue of increment which other parties want to use for political expedient. We want to increase but we are saying let’s do it gradually. Because even if we increase the salaries and wages to 100%, where will the resources come from? So let us be realistic and do what is right”, she told reporters on Friday.
Kumba explained that the SPLM-IO and SSOA members of parliament walked out of the extraordinary session of parliament after members of parliament from the ruling SPLM advocated for passing the budget with a 400% increment in pay rise of the civil servants and men and women in the military, police, and civil servants.
She said the opposition’s demands were against the logic and economic realities.
Analysts have expressed fear that the rift generated by the passage of the 2023/24 Financial Year budget could cause tension and strain relations between key members of the Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity (TGoNU).
Also, strained relations will undermine full and good working relations and therefore affect the implementation of key provisions in the 2018 peace accord.
Currently, the key provisions requiring the cooperation of the parties to expedite the implementation include the need to reconstitute the Political Parties Council and the National Constitutional Review Commission, the enactment by the Transitional National Legislature of the National Elections Act, paving the way for the reconstitution of a credible and impartial National Elections Commission.
Other key provisions relate to the completion of the unification of forces, providing adequate resources to the security mechanisms, and providing timely and sufficient resources for the implementation of all the critical pending tasks of the peace deal.
As a result of a peace agreement that came into effect in February 2020, a new transitional national assembly with 550 members was nominated in May 2021.
(ST)