S. Sudan minister blames government agencies for budget overspending
September 9, 2015 (JUBA) – South Sudan’s finance and economic minister, David Deng has attributed the overspending in the fiscal year budgets to alleged intimidation from government agencies.
He denied responsibility for overspending and delays to the equitably release of funds to government agencies.
“There seems to be a wrong concept that the ministry of finance is over paying (to some government spending agencies),” said Deng.
“It is not the ministry of finance, it the government overpaying. We don’t spend money. The money we pay out is spent by us, including you,” he added.
The minister claimed he was under duress from government agencies he did not identify.
“One time, one of the leading members of this country called me ‘John Garang’ here in this place because I said this [payment] cannot be done. And he said, ‘who are you to refuse what X and X has done? Are you John Garang?’ This is what is what is being faced by the ministry of finance,” he told lawmakers on Tuesday.
Deng urged lawmakers to join him to reduce overspending and consequently eliminate the practice. He declined to specify which government department allegedly forced him to over pay what was approved by parliament. Lawmakers also discovered disparities in executing the budget for the 2014/2015 fiscal year with security, defence and the office of the president doubling their budgets.
Others, including health, education, agriculture and dams as well as transports had their budgeted reduced and operated in deficit.
After a lengthy debate, the assembly approved the budget for 2015/2016 amounting to over 10 billion South Sudanese Pounds (SSP).
Goc Makuac Mayol, the chairperson of the economy and finance committee, said lawmakers had summoned the various government departments to explain the particular items in the budget.
Mayol said SSP 55 million was set aside to support the peace agreement signed last month, of which MPs would use SSP 35 million to travel to their constituencies, SSP 15 million for parliament service commission and SSP 5 million for parliamentary budget process.
Mayol made 21 other recommendations, including strict financial discipline over the course starting July 2015 – June 2016 fiscal year.
“The house observes that there has been a trend of over expenditure in the many spending agencies in contravention of Article 88 and 90of the Transitional Constitution of South Sudan, 2011; appropriation Acts and Public Finance Management and Accountability Act 2011,” he said.
“There was a general disparity in the release of funds by the ministry of finance and economic planning to the spending agencies whereby others overspent at the expense of others. The house directs the ministry of finance to equitably release funds to all spending agencies on a monthly basis,” he added.
According to the appropriating bill 2015/6, any employee convicted of misappropriating funds or exceeding the budget in contravention of the Appropriations Bill, will be jailed for 10 years, asked to refund the money and barred from holding public office for life.
MINISTRY SPENDING
The security sector leads the budget spending with SSP 4.5 billion, rule of law (SSP 1.5 billion), education (SSP 676 million), health (SSP 316 million) and infrastructure (SSP 184 million).
The government, the finance minister said, will borrow SSP 3.6 billion from external loans and SSP 128 million from donors to meet the SSP 10.3 billion budget estimates. The remaining SSP 6.8bn will reportedly be generated from oil and non-oil revenues.
(ST)