By Philip Buda Ladu
Members of Parliament have identified that there is lack of an independent institution responsible for implementing the “Appropriation Act” to ensure budget discipline.
Lawmakers stated that without such an institution, the operationalization of the budget could face challenges, potentially undermining fiscal accountability and effective governance.
In 2022, MPs suggested that the National Ministry of Finance and Planning should relinquish the management of government spending agencies’ money allocated to the various agencies under the national fiscal year budget.
Ministers and some heads of public institutions, including lawmakers, had complained of the Ministry of Finance’s misappropriation of budgeted funds when it comes to the operationalization of their approved (cash) budget.
Some complained of having to go through the headache of following up on their cash disbursements from the Ministry of Finance, which often end up in vain.
The Fiscal, Financial Allocation, and Monitoring Commission is the body in the Ministry of Finance supposedly tasked with making sure the financial year budget is implemented in letter and spirit according to the appropriation act of that particular financial year.
However, the practice has not been the case in South Sudan since independence, as the commission is just ceremonial in nature and lacks the legal framework to discharge its functions as it is operating on a provisional order.
As such, MPs woke up from their comfort zone in a frantic search to ensure the loophole is fixed in the financial docket to bring hygiene to the corrupt way of disbursing funds against the sanctioned national fiscal budget by the parliament.
MP Changkuoth Bicbiock Reth, representing Upper Nile State at the national parliament, and the chairperson of the standing specialized committee of finance and planning stated that the fiscal, financial allocations, and monitoring commission don’t have a law until today, adding that they are operating with a provisional order.
In December 2023, the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Justice Ruben Madol Arol, tabled the Fiscal and Financial Allocation Monitoring Commission Bill 2023 before the Transitional National Legislative Assembly (TNLA).
The bill is to provide for the establishment of an independent commission to ensure transparency regarding the allocation of nationally collected funds to the states and counties.
Hon. Bichiock noted that when the bill was tabled in the house, he sent a team for a benchmarking tour to the Republic of Kenya so that they go and find out what exactly Kenya does in that discipline so that if there are best practices, then South Sudan can adopt.
“In Kenya and other countries in the region there is an office for the controller of budget, which we don’t have here, which is symbolic,” Bichiock highlighted.
He underscored that in the case of South Sudan, the office of the first undersecretary in the national Ministry of Finance and Planning is supposed to be the office of the controller of budget.
“As we speak, the commission is not doing anything; their work is being done by the ministry of finance, and they (the commission) didn’t know what formula was being used by the ministry,” MP Bichiock emphasized.
According to him, in other countries, the commission is independent, and it follows the implementation of the appropriation bill or appropriation act, which is the opposite in South Sudan.
“We are not following it here because we passed the budget; it is on paper, but what is being done is a separate thing,” Bichiock echoed, adding that “the commission only reports to the president and the parliament.”
Ideally, based on law, the commission chair is to check the finance ministry, and the money transfers go through him. If the finance doesn’t follow the law, the chair will suspend any transfer or amount that is not in accordance with the appropriation act.
“So that is why we need to push for this institution so that this office is very independent so that it can follow the proper way of using the resources that this parliament passed, and the amount is supposed to be used based on what the assembly has approved and signed by the president unless there are other amendments.” Bichiock lamented.
Justin Joseph Marona, a lawmaker representing Western Equatoria State, stressed the need to establish an independent and powerful fiscal and financial allocation and monitoring commission if they want to reduce poverty in the states and counties.
“The distribution of the resources, the equalization, and the formula that is supposed to be designed by this commission such that the poor states and counties can get sufficient transfers from the national government are completely not there,” Marona underlined.
He highlighted that the national government has been transferring resources in billions since the independence of this country to the states, be it chapter one (salaries and wages) conditional grants and capital grants with no accountability.
“There is a need for sensitization and enforcement of compliance; this is an audit and accountability requirement,” he stated. “That is why we say accountability has to be at the centre if we want this country to go forward.”
Mr. Marona reiterated that by running away from accountability, they are sinking this country deeper and deeper into the crisis because of the lack of compliance and auditing their performance.
MP Victor Omuko Okide, representing Eastern Equatoria State, acknowledged that the biggest problem in South Sudan is non-compliance with laws.
He stated that the fiscal and financial allocation and monitoring commission is a living dead because it has not been given the powers and an office to operate in leave-alone release of their operational budget by the ministry of finance.
“You don’t give them money; even their chairperson moves on boda boda, and you said this is the person going to monitor the money and everything that’s going on here,” he lamented.
Omuko pointed out that the whole mess in the country comes from the lack of practice of the law and the constitution.
“In this country, we are allergic to practicing the law. When it comes to the law, we want to practice what is in our heads and leave the law,” he continued. “We are allergic to the implementation of resolutions, law, and the constitution.”
Chan Deng Marol MP, representing Northern Bahr el Ghazal State, also added his voice to the need to have an independent body that controls the country’s national fiscal budget.
“The government needs to consider establishing an office of controller of budget at the ministry of finance and then empower the fiscal financial allocation and monitoring commission,” said Marol.
MP Oresto Lopara, representing Eastern Equatoria State, alleged that there is a sole authority in the country who can just spend money without the knowledge of the public.
He emphasized that it is a common practice all over the world that developmental programs are prioritized by governments, taking into consideration the needs of the citizens.
“However, in this country, we continue to buy V8s and Land Cruiser vehicles, which are very expensive than making the roads to the counties, and we buy cheap cars that can cost 5,000 USD, and the rest of the money will go directly for development,” Lopara echoed.
This revelation calls for urgent attention to strengthen the financial management system and ensure that budgetary allocations are adhered to.