South Sudan seeks financial assistance for census and elections
March 11, 2013 (JUBA) – South Sudan is seeking financial assistance to support the conduct to a census in 2014 and elections in 2015, a senior official at the ministry of finance and national economic planning told Sudan Tribune Monday
Both events will be the first since South Sudan became independent in 2011. South Sudan held elections in 2010 in which the ruling SPLM consolidated their grip on power. A census in 2008 proved controversial as the Southern government thought the population of the region had been under-counted.
It is believed that elections will cost more than $65 million, while the census requires more than $30 million, so the young nation, one of the poorest in the world, would not be able to afford the key events, which have not been budgeted for by the South Sudanese government.
It remains unclear whether the government would get funds to support the conduct of the two events within the space of a year. The South Sudanese government lots its main source of revenue a year ago when a transfer dispute with neighbouring Sudan resulted in them stopping production, loosing 98% of its income.
“Clearly the country doesn’t have funds. There is no money to support the conduct of the census and the elections even though the government seem ready to do them. These are two important events. The problem is that they are following each other so closely”, a source said on Monday.
The cabinet last week approved a 30 million South Sudanese pounds (SSP) budget to support establishment of the commissions including structuring itself to make necessary preparations.
“This will be a huge undertaking which the government cannot afford alone without support from other sources. We expect the international community to come in with assistance. We are also trying to mobilise resources from the domestic economy using various instruments especially improving collections of local revenues, income taxes, properties tax, value added tax and many others”, said the official who requested to remain anonymous saying he was not allowed to speak to the media.
South Sudan’s minister of Telecommunications and Postal Service, Madut Biar Yel last week told Sudan Tribune that the cabinet had agreed to hold donor conference to seek funding for the conduct of the census exercise from foreign donors as well as the private sector, saying the government would take the lead in resource mobilisation.
(ST)