Africa-Press – South-Sudan. South Sudan’s proposed 2025-2026 fiscal year budget is the smallest among East African nations and appears critically insufficient to fund any significant development projects within the country, according to policy analyst James Boboya.
Speaking to Eye Radio, Thursday, June 12, Boboya warned that this exceptionally low budget could have severe negative impacts on the nation’s progress.
Boboya underscored South Sudan’s budgetary disparity by comparing it to its regional counterparts.
He noted that Uganda’s budget stands at $20 billion, Kenya’s at an estimated $18-20 billion, and Tanzania’s at roughly $21 billion for the same fiscal year. Even smaller economies like Rwanda boast a $4.8 billion budget, while Burundi’s is approximately $1.77 billion.
The Democratic Republic of Congo’s budget is also significantly larger, approaching $18-20 billion. In stark contrast, South Sudan’s recently revealed national budget is 5.2 trillion South Sudanese Pounds (SSP).
“I used the exchange rate of 445 South Sudanese pounds,” Boboya explained, “so that means if our budget is passed that way, it is going to be $1.15 billion. The smallest in the region.”
According to Boboya, this proposed budget is alarmingly inadequate for effective national public finance management and overall national development. He also highlighted a worrying trend in the country’s budgetary allocations.
“I tried to do some comparison between what happens in the 2024-2025 budget,” Boboya stated. “The budget was 0.2 trillion [SSP], which is lower, but by then the exchange rate was also lower. So, the budget for 2024-2025 was 1.3 billion dollars.”
This represents a significant decline in real terms. “The government has lost close to 200 to 300 million dollars of the budget, and that’s not how the budget is supposed to be. The budget is supposed to go up,” he stressed. Boboya concluded by expressing his deep concern, stating that this situation.
“makes me worry in terms of the national public finance management and the national budget process, and South Sudan appears to be not something that helps this country.”
Source: Eye Radio
For More News And Analysis About South-Sudan Follow Africa-Press
