South Sudan Minister of Finance and Planning Dr. Marial Dongrin Ater has proposed SSP 5.2 trillion budget for fiscal year 2025-2925.
According to the the new Budget that prioritize strengthening agriculture and Mining sector with hope to generate more income for the Country as oil production faces challenges such as interruption by conflict.
On Wednesday, the Minister of Finance and Planning, Dr. Marial Dongrin Ater presented South Sudanese Pounds (SSP) SSP 5.2 trillion fiscal budgets for 2025-2925 to the Economic cluster for deliberation.
Still the budget awaits parliamentary sitting so that they can deliberate on it and ensure that is it approve.
In November 2024, South Sudan Parliament approved National Budget for 2024/2025 at an amount of 4.2 trillion South Sudan pounds.
These budgets came with introduction of new taxes that suddenly increase fees and prices in the market however it is not yet clear whether the 2025/2026 budget will come with new taxes as well.
The economic cluster meeting chaired by Vice President Dr. Benjamin Bol Mel brought income generating ministries together such as Minister of Mining of Mining, investment, Agriculture and food Security among others.
“This morning (Wednesday), Vice President Dr. Benjamin Bol Mel chaired a meeting of the Economic Cluster, during which the Ministry of Finance and Planning presented the national resource envelope and budget estimates for the 2025/2026 fiscal year” the statement partly read.
Despite the financial challenges in the country according to the cluster deliberation, the 2025-26 budget would focus on economic recovery, macroeconomic stability, and support for the nation’s democratic processes.
“The proposed budget outlines clear national priorities: strengthening agriculture and mining to unlock our nation’s vast potential, ensuring the timely payment of public servants’ salaries, and expanding humanitarian support to uplift vulnerable communities across the country” it read.
In his address during the presentation of the estimate budget Dr. Benjamin Bol Mel the Vice President for Economic cluster expressed that need for fiscal discipline, transparency, and a people-cantered approach to budgeting and public spending.
VP Bol urged all the Institutions all to align with these values and make sure that all spendings are within the law and for the best interest of the people.
How the country’s budget is prepared
Recently the Executive Director for Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO) Edmund Yakani called on Members of the public to express their views on how the 2025/2026 budget will look like.
“I would like to take this opportunity to ask Citizens who want to make an observation or want to raise their opinions on the content of our financial year 2025-2026” Yakani said