Jonglei, S. Sudan adopts new computerised financial system

July 8, 2011 (BOR)-The state government of Jonglei has adopted new computerised system for financial control starting from July, the state minister of finance revealed on 7 July.

The state minister of finance, Aquila Mam told Sudan Tribune from his office in Bor that the state government has spent about US$376,000 to bring in computers and software from Canada through Join Access Kilobit (JAK) earlier this year.

JAK is a Canadian company formed and registered in 2004, dealing in computer networking, software, databases for financial records and human resource management.

Mam said the computerised system will be used in the fund generating ministry of physical infrastructure to register all plot owners in a database to avoid fraud as well as in the ministry of finance to control tax collections and state employees by monitoring their daily activities in their places of work and the payment of salaries.

Mam stressed that the new technology will improve tax collection in the state by eliminating the middle men; clients will be able to pay for their invoices at the bank and report their receipts to the ministry.

“People will never touch cash. The clients will be paying at the bank and only come with the receipts to the ministry for registration”, Mam explained.

According to the minister, the state is expecting to generate about SDG28 million from the computerised system compared with the current SDG5 million.

There have been issue with fraud which it is hoped will be eliminated with computerised IDs for all the state employees containing data on salary, place of work, photo, finger prints.

The manager of JAK and project initiator, Joseph Majur Akoi told Sudan Tribune that he is working hard to fulfil the requests of Jonglei saying the system is now ready for use.

Lack of computer experts in the state is one of the challenges facing Majur in running the project.

According to Majur the system is fully installed in the Finance ministry and in Pakuau, where collection of taxes will be monitored.

He said has also assigned numbers and IDs to Bor traders and shop owners.

Majur said the system will help to identify traders who have not paid for their invoices and it will be their job to remind them to turn to settle their payments.

He said his office has already registered about 390 businessmen in Marol market, some of whom have already turned up for clearance.

Bor trader, Emam Ibrahim, from Ethiopia said he is happy with the system, that they will all enjoy the services and that dealing with policemen and other tax collectors had not been a positive experience.

Another trader, John Dut Ayii Dut also expressed his appreciation for the new system and said its effectiveness will depend on the how honest the traders are. Dut accused the government police of failing to protect their shops from night thieves.

The state finance minister, Aquila Mam said the state will soon implement the long awaited new budget that was passed by the state assembly last July, which this project is included in.

According to the minister, 74 percent of the SDG194 million state budget is spent on salaries, 14 percent on operating cost and only 12 percent on development.

He called upon the citizens of South Sudan to embark on private sector projects to create jobs, saying the government does not have the employment opportunities to meet everyone’s requirements.

“It is not a matter of saying we are independent but we must work for ourselves. We are now joyed to be in independent state, so we must also make to develop ourselves”, Mam said.

(ST)