N. Bahr el Ghazal assembly passes 12m SSP budget
October 23, 2014 (JUBA) – Lawmakers in South Sudan’s Northern Bahr el Ghazal on Wednesday put aside their differences with the executive and unanimously approved the 12 million South Sudan Pounds annual budget.
The state finance minister, Ayii Bol Agany earlier presented the draft budget to parliament, urging MPs to pass it to allow continuity in activities.
A lawmaker, often critical of the state administration’s economic policy, said the budget was “harmful to the local economy” as it still left the area dependent on transfers from the central government, instead of allowing it come from locally generated revenues.
“We have resources in this state to generate to support our own development projects. The problem is the managements of these resources. There are countries in the region and in around the world which do not have oil and they are striving,” said the lawmaker, who cited Rwanda as an example.
“It [Rwanda] generates resources from local taxes which are returned to the people in form of development projects. They build schools, roads and many others,” he added.
Relations between the executive and parliament had, in recent years, become increasingly particularly over budget matters.
In 2012, lawmakers voted to impeach the ex-finance minister, Ronald Ruay Deng, prompting former governor Paul Malong Awan to threaten some MPs and remove assembly speaker, Aguer Wol Aguer.
Awan was also accused by the legislature of undermining the role of lawmakers in carrying out state supervisory and oversight functions.
The new budget, obtained by Sudan Tribune prioritises education with a SSP 12,273,081 allocation. The ministry of physical infrastructure takes second place in the budget with 6,273.814, with 4.5 million earmarked for repairs and maintenance covering 377km of local roads and bridges in Aweil East, West and South counties.
(ST)