Matia Samuel
Africa-Press – South-Sudan. A renowned economist, Dr. Abraham Maliet defended the frequent changing of finance ministers, arguing it is engineered towards finding the right person to stabilize the economy.
Dr Maliet told The City Review yesterday that changes made by President Salva Kiir are usually in good faith, for the country has been yearning for the best person for the docket.
“The president has been searching for the well-placed person that can advance his economic interests as a country.”
Since independence in 2011, the country has already had 10 finance ministers and currently has the highest turnover in the region.
However, he cautioned that this could also lead to the embezzlement of public funds.
“If you know that you are going to be taken away tomorrow, for sure, you will definitely grab what you can grab; that is something that can happen,” he argued.
He said the change will not affect the 2023–2024 fiscal year budget because the role of the minister is only to lobby for the money and bring it to the country based on government policies.
“What happens is that the minister himself, with the policy of the government and the country, goes and gets the money. So, you can have trillions of budget, but if you don’t have the money, you cannot do anything.”
He said the current budget is something that has already been designed unless the new minister sees necessities he can.
The former minister Dier Tong Ngor was appointed on August 4, 2022, by President Salva Kiir and was fired on Thursday evening.
According to the statement read on the state-owned media outlet SSBC TV Dier Tong Ngor has been replaced by Bak Barnaba Chol Bak as the new minister of finance.
Source: The City Review South Sudan
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