By James Chatim

“There is need to make sure that whatever available resources are used very transparently and efficiently to fund the federalist structure. Federalism has a strong fiscal component. Therefore, as the federal element and the federated entities need to be able to accumulate revenue and dispose of their proper financial means to discharge their proper mandates.”

That was the strong message passed by the European Union ambassador to the Republic of South Sudan Timo Olkkonen at the opening of a four-day workshop on fiscal federalism organized by the National Constitutional Review Commission (NCRC) in collaboration with the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and the Max Planck Foundation for International Peace and Rule of Law.

The ambassador said there is need for the people of South Sudan to make sure that the available resources are used very transparently and efficiently to fund the federalist structure.

Additionally, the envoy emphasized that federalism has a strong fiscal component, therefore, its elements and entities need to be able to accumulate revenue and dispose of their proper financial means to discharge their proper mandates.

“It is as much about sharing resources and wealth as it is about sharing spending and political powers. The interim constitution indicates in Article 169 that, revenue sharing shall reflect a commitment to devolution of powers and decentralization of decision-making in regard to development, service delivery and good governance. Chapter 4, Article 11 of the peace agreement which is part of the constitution, stipulates that, the proportion of the natural resource wealth of South Sudan shared with the states and counties shall be increased and that the final terms of the increment and formulae to be applied shall be determined in the permanent course of the constitution,”

“Ownership of petroleum and gas shall be invested in the people of South Sudan and shall be developed and managed by the national government on behalf of and for the benefit of the people. Unfortunately, we know today that this system is dysfunctional. I have on several occasions been told that neither the communities nor the local authorities of the areas producing oil have been receiving the share,” Olkkonen explained.

The workshop, bringing together international and national experts, discussed key concepts and practical approaches to fiscal federalism.  

The program is held in relation to the constitution-making framework established by the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS).

Throughout the four-day workshop, members of the NCRC will engage in discussions covering foundational concepts of fiscal federalism, South Sudan’s legal framework on fiscal federalism, allocation of revenue raising powers, allocation of expenditure powers and natural resources revenues.

During the four-day workshop, the NCRC members are also to deliberate on intergovernmental transfer and revenue sharing systems as well as allocation of borrowing powers.

The final day of the workshop will focus on reflecting upon lessons learned from comparative federal experiences and fostering dialogue on the key issues identified during the workshop.

Meanwhile the Minister of Federal Affairs Lasuba L. Wango said, the people of South Sudan are positioned at this particular historic moment to develop their common constitution.

The Federal Affairs Minster commended the Max Planck for organizing the workshop and inviting experts from unions and the others with a wealth of experiences in supporting development of federal structure.

“I am grateful that we have experts from Max Planck Foundation, we have experts from unions and the others with a wealth of experiences in supporting development) of federal structure. And particularly on this workshop focusing on discussing federal fiscal federalism in various parts of the country with their experiences being brought together to help the people of South Sudan to make a better choice of the best federal system we wanted to see in this country,” said Minister Wango.