Economist slams budget allocated for accountability sector
A senior economist has criticised the budgetary allocation for the accountability sector in the 2021/2022 fiscal year, saying it is too meagre to fight corruption.
Reja Gladys Joseph, who is a lecturer at the University of Juba College of Economics and Social Studies, said the budget allocated for the sector could not provide any substantive boost to overturn the status quo. She recommended a minimum allocation of 10 per cent.
In an interview with The City Review on Thursday, Reja said the budget for the accountability sector should be increased if the government is serious to fight corruption.
The proposed national budget for FY 2021/2022 is SSP 287 billion, a figure which represents 12.8 per cent of GDP, estimated to be SSP 2.241.0 trillion.
However, the accountability sector received only SSP 1.8 billion, which represents 0.6 per cent of the budget according to the draft presented to the parliament by Finance Minister Agak Achuil Lual on Wednesday.
Reja who is also a national consultant for the economic foundation said the accountability sector should have been given a reasonable budget to enhance institutions such as the anti-corruption commission to hold accountable corrupt individuals.
“It is good that we started the financial reforms, and therefore, we should focus on the financial reforms so that we fight corruption,” he said.
“I urged the anti-corruption commission to try their best and the judiciary so that we don’t lead the world in corruption in the world,” she stressed.
Reja urged the MPs to focus on financing the accountability sector, adding that it is a critical sector in the fight against corruption in the country.
She said it was not too late for South Sudan to detach itself from the list of the world’s most corrupt countries if legislation passed by the parliament is properly executed.
TI bombshell
Last week, Transparency International— an international non-governmental organisation based in Germany— ranked South Sudan as the most corrupt country in the world.
The country has been at the bottom of the index for two years in a row. According to the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) 2021, South Sudan remains at the bottom with a score of 11, followed by Syria (13) and Somalia (13)
“It is just willingness of political will to make sure that the approved bills are implemented. We have to focus and put more effort into it. If our lawmakers try to do their job things might have worked out. We are almost known for the negative things in the world,” Reja said.
“The report on corruption makes us number one in the list. We have taken the lead position. They should have increased the percentage may be at least to 10 per cent,” she stated.
To combat corruption in South Sudan, the economist underlined the importance of implementing e-government systems such as banking for the payment of government bills.
However, to combat the prevalent problem of ghost employees and arrears, the ministry of finance has defined full implementation of the biometric system for all public sector employees, who will then be obliged to register bank accounts with commercial banks into which their monthly payment will be placed.
It also described the establishment of the public procurement and asset disposal authority (PPADA) in the 2021/2022 budget, to establish a transparent and accountable procurement system to bridge the trust gap between the government, development partners, and citizens.
In addition, any arrears on goods and services delivered by the private sector to various government entities would be reviewed and verified.
In his presentation of the draft budget on Wednesday, Agak said the economy had started showing signs of recovery as a result of the country’s relative stability since the signing of the agreement in 2018.
He said the ministry had embarked on a Comprehensive Public Financial Management Reforms Strategy (PFMRS) which he said had created the groundwork for economic recovery and growth.
“I am very glad to report to this august house that we have started since 2020 to implement the reforms stipulated in chapter IV of R-ARCSS with tangible results in the form of our re-engagement with the international financial institutions (IFIs),” he said.
Agak said out of the proposed budget figure of SSP 287.0, SSP 169.3 billion which represents 7.5 per cent will be financed by domestic revenues, SSP 77.4 billion which presents 3.5 per cent shall be financed through credit which is concessional loans from cooperative partners, and the remaining SSP 40.3 billion, which represents 1.8 per cent will be financed through commercial borrowing.
