While acknowledging the recently passed 2024/2025 fiscal year budget, Dr. Igga said the budget came almost 6 months late compared to the rest of East African Countries.

By Opio Jackson

The Vice President for the Economic Cluster, Dr. James Wani Igga said East African Community member states are disgusted by South Sudan’s late budget passing.

He urged the legislature to improve the next fiscal year’s budget.

While acknowledging the recently passed 2024/2025 fiscal year budget, Dr. Igga said the budget came almost 6 months late compared to the rest of East African Countries.

“Now the East African Countries are disgusted with us because their budget comes up in June and by July, they must begin to operate in a new financial year but we are almost six months late. Let us change,” Wani said.

Also, he noted late payment of salaries saying sometimes civil servants spend about three months without salaries attributing it to the late transfer of money from income-generating institutions.

“I am feeling to the income generating institutions let us not wait until the date thirties then you send the money to the ministry of finance through the bank,” he said.

He urged them to send the money early so that the Ministry of Finance could prepare to pay the civil servants in time.

The recent passed South Sudan budget comes months after the region partner states passed their budgets for the next financial year.

The Finance Ministers of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, member states of the East African Community (EAC) tabled their respective 2024/25 budgets before their respective parliaments on 13 June 2024.
 A key focus for the region is Fiscal Consolidation/Climate Change Adaptation/Digital Transformation. The budgets showcase commitment to foster economic growth, enhance regional collaboration, address key challenges, and revive the region from the global supply shocks and economic headwinds in recent years.

According to the East Africa Community (EAC) Treaty, finance ministers of the partners state read their budgets simultaneously, under the common theme.

In June this year, a member of parliament representing South Sudan in the East Africa Legislative Assembly expressed concerns over the delayed submission of fiscal year 2024/2025 budget in his country.

Hon. Kim Gai Ruot decried that the South Sudan Minister of Finance and Planning was yet to table the draft budget as it designated as the EAC Budget Day.

“Today is EAC Budget Day, yet our Ministry of Finance of the Republic of South Sudan has not even tabled the FY 2024/25 budget to the Council of Ministers, let alone to Parliament,” Gai said in a statement on his Facebook page.

“Now the East African Countries are disgusted with us because their budget comes up in June and by July, they must begin to operate in a new financial year but we are almost six months late. Let us change,” Vice President for the Economic Cluster, Dr. James Wani Igga.