The Ministry of Finance tabled a bill to appropriate unspent money from the budget in order to pay for salaries and essential expenditures in June and July.
National Finance and Economic Planning minister Kosti Manibe Ngai tabled the Supplementary Appropriation Bill 2012/2013 to rake 708 million South Sudanese Pounds from operating and capital budgets of over 50 ministries and institutions.The cuts will be used to pay salaries and house allowances in the army and salaries in the Foreign Ministry.
They fund operations in the Finance and Interior ministries and in Urban Water Cooperation and increase capital in the ministries of Roads, Petroleum and Transport, in the Office of the President and the Bank of South Sudan.
Mr Manibe explained that since the ministry was not allowed to increase resources through additional loans “it was necessary to reduce unspent operating and capital budget balances by 708 million Pounds.”
Essential sectors like health, education, agriculture, electricity, information, telecom, water, judiciary, and AIDS, Anti-corruption and Audit Chamber saw their budgets sliced some in half and others in one third.
The Ministries of Finance and Petroleum and the Office of the President were untouched by the raking operation.
The Supplementary Appropriation Bill is being studied by all clusters at the National Legislative Assembly and Council of States to be discussed on Monday when the House resumes plenary work.
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