Capital investment lacks in 2021/2022 budget, says Yakani

A civil society activist has said fiscal 2021/2022 budget did not include adequate capital investment for the benefit of citizens.

The Executive Director for Community Empowerment for Progress Organisation (CEPO), Edmund Yakani, said the budget falls short of people’s expectations.

He called on the lawmakers to focus more on chapters one and three of the budget during its deliberation.

The long-awaited budget is expected to be tabled in parliament on Wednesday.

He said the literature on government expenditure exceeds the sum approved by the executive.

Yakani said the figure in the budget booklet, was very small, which, according to him, was not adequate to fund the government’s initiatives across the country.

 “The literature we have in the country shows that the government is spending more than four billion. Now this budget is below the government literature we have seen, and we are a bit concerned about it, ” he revealed.

In September last year, the cabinet approved a budget estimate of SSP287.04 billion for fiscal years 201/2022.

However, Yakani said it was the first time the budget has focused on chapter three of the budget, which is capital investment that will benefit the citizens who pay tax to the government.

As the legislature prepares to debate the budget bill on Wednesday, Yakani urged them to concentrate on strengthening Chapter 3 of the budget that deals with capital investment.

The activist said he expected the budget figure to be SSP4 billion or even more.

“We expect capital investment to reconstitute 50 per cent of the national budget from the rest of the budget where citizens cannot benefit from the revenues collected in the country whether from the oil, non-oil resources or through foreign aids and international borrowing,” Yakani explained.

He also asked the MPs to consider improving the salary structures for civil servants in all sectors of the government across the country.

“It should be similar to how they increased their wages when they passed their emolument bill last week, which raised their pay from SSP9,400 to SSP 800,000.”

 “If they are debating it they should put the national interest above their party or individual interest. So they should focus on where the citizens should gain out of the budget. It should not be a budget for filling the box, it should be a realistic budget that will meet the real interests of the citizens,” the activist stressed.

The proposed budget includes money from oil, non-oil revenues, and grants South Sudan received from other countries, according to Information Minister Michael Makuei, who held a press briefing after the cabinet passed the budget bill last year.

Makuei stated that the budget figure was high in total and that it had been passed with amendments, but Yakani dismissed the statement yesterday, saying the figure was below the expenditure of the government.

 “It was observed that in case of any shortcomings, the ministries and minister of finance are free to make supplementary budgets in areas which are not yet fully covered by the budget,” Makuei told the press.

Yakani stated that the government often generates a lot of money from the revenues it receives, which are more than what it spends across the country.

 He said poor financial management and a high level of corruption had made it impossible for the government to deliver services to its citizens.

 “I think what the MPs need to do when they are discussing the budget on Wednesday, is how to initiate a financial procedure together with the budget that controls the collection of revenues,” Yakani stressed.