By Yien Gattour
Unity State Legislative Assembly on Thursday resolved to summon the state’s minister of finance and planning to answer questions about the 3 percent proceeds from the sale of crude oil allocated to the state.
The move came after an SPLM-IO legislator, David Jany Yak, raised a motion and said the money has not been received by the state since 2013.
After deliberating over the matter at length, the lawmakers unanimously agreed to summon the state’s Finance Minister Malual Tap to furnish them with details on the matter.
The chairperson of the information committee in the Unity State Legislative Assembly, Stephen Mawich, told No.1 Citizen Daily Newspaper on Friday that the dire situation in the state forced the parliamentarians to seek further information about the money.
“What is happening in the oil-producing state and the lack of development made us ask about the 3 percent oil share. We do not know where the 3 percent is going,” he explained. “It is a serious matter that needs to be addressed quickly. We need to know the budget in the state before we pass the new 2023/2024 budget.
For his part, David Jany Yak, the lawmaker who raised the motion to discuss the issue of the 3 percent oil share of Unity State, said it was important for the parliamentarians to know where the money has been going.
“We need to know where the money has been allocated to currently because our people have not been getting the 3 percent oil share allocated to the community for development, education, health, and safe water among other things,” he said.
According to Jany, there is no development in the state due to the poor management of the 3 percent oil share for the state’s seven counties of Mayom, Rubkona, Guit, Koch, Mayiendit, Leer and Panyijiar.
Meanwhile, Christian Kubay, another parliamentarian, said that citizens have been complaining about the state’s share from oil sales, but little has been done.
“We need the national parliament to ask our views first before they go ahead with the suspension of the disbursement of the state’s 3 percent share from crude oil. They just suspended the remittance to the state without our input,” she said.
“Our state lacks school supplies, classrooms, health facilities, even clean water.
The state’s finance minister did not answer repeated phone calls.