Africa-Press – South-Sudan. A civil society activist is strongly urging the National Legislative Assembly to prioritize the immediate passing of the 2025/26 national budget, citing South Sudan’s consistent lag behind East African counterparts in financial planning and service delivery.
Ter Manyang, Executive Director of the Centre for Peace and Advocacy, told Eye Radio this morning that lawmakers must focus on the implementation of the peace agreement and address the nation’s worsening economic crisis.
He criticized the delays in the resumption of parliamentary sessions.
“One of the main issues is the budget of 2025/2026. The parliament needs to discuss this budget, because if you look at other member states like Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, and Somalia, South Sudan is at the last when it comes to the issue of the budget every year,” Manyang stated.
He questioned whether this delay stems from a “lack of technicality from the Minister of Finance, or is it because South Sudan makes it intentionally?”
Manyang stressed that the budget “is not supposed to be on the figures, they need to make the real budget that reflects the need of the South Sudanese people, especially in particular, especially on agriculture.”
The activist also raised alarm over the absence of cabinet meetings, rising market prices, and the plight of unpaid civil servants, warning that the lack of action by leaders is pushing citizens toward severe economic hardship and mental health issues.
Manyang urged President Salva Kiir to address these critical issues in his expected speech at the reopening of the National Legislative Assembly.
“The President is supposed to speak on the issue of the economy. Citizens are starving, and civil servants have gone for months, almost 36 months without receiving their salaries,” Manyang asserted.
“This is a concern that puts the country at risk, because if I cannot provide food on the table, and then you’re torturing me through my mental health, I will not be able to think. I will have the stress, and then from the stress, I will have trauma, and then at the end of the day, I will commit suicide.”
He highlighted the escalating cost of living, noting that “$100 is now 600,000 SSP,” and questioned the whereabouts of oil and non-revenue money.
“I think the President needs to address the issue of the economy,” Manyang concluded.
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