Yiep Joseph
Africa-Press – South-Sudan. The First Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly Oyet Nathaniel rubbished the notion that the government is running out of resources to keep the economy afloat, claiming that what is being generated is not put to proper use.
In a State of the Nation address on Tuesday, the government spokesperson, Michael Makuei, said the country was facing challenges in appropriating the current budget due to the financial challenges.
“You are aware that the country is facing huge challenges in the economic sector. As we make this statement, the Ministry of Finance and Planning is unable to execute the FY 2023–2024 budget to your satisfaction,” Makuei said on Tuesday.
Makuei further added that the “financial crisis that caused the extreme suffering in the country originated from poor fiscal performance due to a lack of revenue diversification and dependence on oil proceeds.”
However, in an interview with The City Review, Oyet, who is also the Deputy Chairman of SPLM-IO, said that the country is rich with several resources but the mismanagement of such resources is what fuels economic crisis.
“You know South Sudan is not poor as such (claimed by the government); we have enough resources, both oil and non-oil,” Oyet said.
He noted that the current economic challenges stemming from inflation, the high prices, the lack of development, and the unemployment, among others, are man-made due to mismanagement.
“In fact, what we have in this country (South Sudan) is mismanagement of the resources,” he said.
The lawmaker claimed that some people who benefit from inflation continue to enrich themselves and continue to control the market.
“The US dollar (exchange rate) is controlled by individuals rather than by the government; this is why the economy is experiencing running inflation,” Oyet said.
He stated that the budget is always used improperly by some institutions and individuals because of their interests.
“The so-called “failure to execute the FY2023/2024 budget satisfactorily” is the failure to balance this mutually exclusive relationship and interest between the state of South Sudan and private entrepreneurs,” he claimed.
“You cannot satisfy both masters. They are mutually exclusive,” he added.
Oyet, however, acknowledged the existing challenges in the oil sector but claimed that they cannot take the country to the present stage.
“Although there are external problems, like the war in Sudan, that problem cannot affect the economy to the magnitude that we have now,” he said.
He reiterated that there is a lack of transparency in the oil sector, adding that until now, it has not been clear what exactly the country receives from its oil.
“In the sector, there is a lack of transparency in the revenue. How much do we sell and how much do we get?” he said.
Source: The City Review South Sudan
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