Ministries accused of failing to remit revenue to NRA

The Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning has accused some ministries in the economic cluster of not remitting their revenue collections to the National Revenue Authority.

Agok Makur Kur made the statement during a budget review with the standing committee on finance and planning on Thursday at Parliament when he was responding to queries from members of Parliament regarding the ministry’s delay in paying civil servants’ salaries.

Makur said his ministry is dealing with a number of issues that make it difficult for it to pay civil servants’ salaries on time.

He said one of the obstacles was a decline in global oil prices in prior years as a result of COVID-19 and the 2013 war. He noted: “we were not able to generate money because of the worldwide lockdown.” “We won’t be able to.’’

Makur also stated that even though some government institutions within the economic cluster do not remit their revenues to the ministry of finance, the economic cluster has the right to question any ministry within the cluster over failure to comply.  

“They collect the revenue, and they are not giving it to our agency, the NRA.” The NRA is on behalf of the ministry of finance to collect. So these are some of the difficulties we are facing as the ministry of finance, but now we are going to handle this situation through the economic cluster,’’ he revealed.

“I think sometimes some of these questions are answered by you. We are in the same government and the source of income of resources in South Sudan we get it in two ways. The most we get it from the oil sector, about 80 per cent, and the little we get it through the NRA,” Makur said.

Makur conceded that civil servants’ salaries are insufficient to buy food for their families, and he stated that the Council of Ministers approved four scenarios based on the government and public service’s policies which he said would improve the salary of the civil servants if adopted.

“And of these four scenarios, if we adopted one, I hope we could cover the situation and I hope any worker can get something that can buy food items at least. At least it can buy something if it is not enough. We adopted one scenario. “

 Revenue

However, according to the proposed national budget presented to parliament earlier this month by the Minister of Finance and Planning, Agak Achuil, the gross domestic revenues are expected to increase to SSP 647.4 billion in FY 2021/2022, or 28.9 per cent of GDP.

Of this sum, SSP 589.1 billion represents 91.0 per cent of oil revenues, while the remaining SSP 58.3 billion represents 9.0 per cent of non-oil revenues.

Total oil production is estimated to be 156,000 barrels per day in the fiscal year 2021-2022, down from 170,000 barrels per day in the fiscal year 2020/2021, according to the budget.

It also stated that the expected fall in the price production is due to the depletion of some oil wells as well as the consequences of the 2020 floods. The government owns 42% of the profit from oil production, and the benchmark price for Dar Blend is expected to be US$ 63 a barrel.

“The government has prepared for direct transfers or mandatory payments of SSP 478.1 billion out of gross oil revenues of SSP 589.1 billion, leaving a balance of SSP 111.0 billion to finance the FY 2021/2022 budget,” the paper states.

Transfers to Sudan of SSP 63.8 billion for processing, transportation, and transit fees, transfers to oil-producing states and communities of SSP 26.3 billion, and transfers to the Ministry of Petroleum of SSP 15.8 billion accounts for the SSP 478.1 billion in required transfers.

Other mandatory/direct contributions include SSP 184 billion for oil for roads construction and SSP 188.2 billion for debt service.

Non-oil revenues are expected to increase by SSP 13.8 billion, or 31.1 per cent, to SSP 58.2 billion in FY 2021-2022, up from SSP 44.4 billion in FY 2020/2021. This has been ascribed to sector reforms aimed at increasing tax collection accountability.

The projected increase in non-oil revenues is due to tax administration reforms being implemented at the National Revenue Authority, which includes digitising tax collections, broadening the tax base, and the proposal to fully deploy National Revenue Authority staff in non-tax revenue collecting institutions.