By Deng Ghai Deng
The Transitional National Legislative Assembly (TNLA) has renewed its call for Africano Mande, the Commissioner General of the South Sudan National Revenue Authority (NRA), to appear before the House after he failed to attend a scheduled session last week.
On July 26, the TNLA had summoned both the Minister of Finance and Mande to address concerns regarding delays in paying government employees.
Lawmakers were seeking clarity on the NRA’s monthly revenue collections and the status of account unification as previously directed. However, only the Finance Minister appeared for questioning, prompting the TNLA to issue a formal reminder for Mande’s attendance.
TNLA spokesperson Oliver Mori addressed the media on Monday, emphasizing the importance of Mande’s appearance.
“Both the Minister of Finance and the Commissioner General of the National Revenue Authority were summoned,” Mori said.
“Mande did not turn up, and a reminder has been sent to him to appear before parliament to explain the details of non-oil revenue collection and how these funds are being remitted to the bank.”
Mori underscored that the parliament is eager to ascertain whether the accounts are being unified as instructed.
“The head of state was clear that non-oil revenue collections should be sufficient to cover government employee salaries and other services. Therefore, the Commissioner General cannot evade this parliamentary inquiry,” Mori added.
The spokesperson noted that the parliament had previously believed Mande might have been engaged in national duties last Monday.
“Given that he did not appear, we have sent another reminder for him to set aside any other commitments and attend the session,” Mori said.
Mande is now expected to appear before the TNLA on Tuesday.
Monday’s parliamentary session was adjourned due to technical difficulties with the microphones, which impeded proceedings.