President Salva Kiir has begun the reorganisation process to effect the economic reform he highlighted in his recent New Year message as one of the government’s priorities in 2022.
On the evening of January 3, 2022, the head of state resumed official duty with a raft of changes, communicating the intention of revamps to champion the reforms.
Kiir issued Republican Decrees removing the first Undersecretary at the Ministry of Finance and Planning, Ucujung Genis, and replacing him with Simon Kiman Ladu.
The president also sacked Dier Tong Ngor as the governor of the Central Bank of South Sudan and appointed Moses Makur Deng as his replacement. He rehired Mr Genis as the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Trade.
However, his decrees did not cite any reason for the changes.
New Year plans
In the close-of-year message, in which he wished the citizens all the best in 2022, the president promised solutions to economic challenges that hindered his government from delivering services to the citizens.
“I am also very happy that we can collectively say goodbye to the year 2021, in peace, even though it has been a difficult year for us.
“You all know that we were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, flooding in most parts of our country, and the lingering economic hardship since we ended the war in 2018,” Kiir said.
“Fellow citizens, these are challenges you rightly expect your government to address. While the financial limitations did not allow us to address these challenges to your expectations, I am assuring you that we are committed to addressing them in the coming year.” Kiir said in a statement.
He continued, “in the face of excess needs and scarce resources, we need to provide unwavering support to those who are working to reform how we collect and allocate resources.” This is critical because it is only through financial management that we can meet our priorities, including funding the implementation of the revitalised peace agreement. “
“That is why I am calling upon you to support the ongoing work on the Public Financial Management Reform Strategy. Supporting these reforms will eliminate ad hoc spending and ensure government budgetary allocations are spent on designated priorities.”
The head of the state further said: “Through these reforms, the ministry of finance and planning will be able to meet its commitments to government departments. This will ensure all departments received their budgetary in a timely manner.”
In the past years, South Sudan has been named as one of the corrupt countries that need reform in its financial management system, especially in oil and non-oil revenue collection to enable service delivery to its citizens.
Though the president has made several changes in the country’s financial department, which are seen as attempts to seal corruption holes, the citizens are yet to enjoy the dividends of a country endowed with abundant resources.
As such, Chapter Four of the economic reform stipulates that political leaders and stakeholders ensure that the coalition government is transparent and accountable, with legal, institutional, and procedural policies, and procedures fully functional for sustainable development.
It also states that the revitalised government will create an ethics and integrity code for public officials that will emphasise the values of honesty and integrity. In addition, it should expand the curriculum in the educational system to inculcate the spirit of nationalism and promote the values of honesty, integrity, and respect for public property.
Furthermore, the wealth of South Sudan shall be shared equitably among all levels of government to enable each level to discharge its reconstruction, development, legal and constitutional obligations, duties, and responsibilities.
And, among other things, revenue sharing must reflect a commitment to the devolution of powers and resources, as well as the decentralisation of decision-making in development, service delivery, and governance.