By Taban Gabriel
King News Juba-20th August 2024 – The Transitional National Legislative Assembly (TNLA) Committee for Finance and Economic Planning, along with Finance Ministers from the 10 states and three Administrative Areas, and Directors of Planning and Budgets, gathered at the Imperial Hotel in Juba for a three-day workshop on public financial and budget management starting today.
The workshop, funded by the World Bank Group (WBG) and supported by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the African Development Bank (AfDB), is designed to strengthen the capacity of parliamentarians and state financial officials in budget preparation processes, as outlined in the event’s briefing notes.
Speaking during the event as a guest of honor, the Minister of Finance, Dr. Marial Dongrin Ater, acknowledged the support of WBG, UNDP, and AfDB for “funding capacity building on public finance management in South Sudan.”
“Ladies and gentlemen, effective financial management is essential for achieving our national development goal. The budget serves as a physical road map and must be transparently executed and rigorously monitored,” Dr. Marial said
According to the Minister, partners’ continued efforts to build the capacity of civil servants in the country have had a great impact on enhancing public financial management reforms.
He urged participants to take the workshop seriously to help them understand their roles in resource management.
Marial said his institution “shall in the nearest future” organize trainings in the states for the officials to be able to use the workshop’s aspects.
The Finance Minister calls on development partners to continue supporting capacity building in the country.
National Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Dr. Marial Dongrin Ater, addresses the Finance Ministers and the TNLA Committee for Finance and Economic Planning at the Imperial Plaza Hotel
Meanwhile, the Committee on Finance and Economic Planning Chairperson at the TNLA Changkouth Bichok urged officials from the States and three Administrative Areas to prepare their fiscal year budgets “no matter the challenges you are facing.”
“You have the secretary of planning who gives you the plans, but I think he doesn’t even know what is collected in the states. He doesn’t even have the data. This is to help you know where your resources are in the states and why budget for it,” he said
Bichok charged the State parliaments with coming up with their budgets before the final hearing of the Fiscal Year budget for the financial year 2024/2025, which he said is slated for Friday.
The World Bank Acting Country Manager David Santos conveyed his institution’s desire to continue supporting service delivery capacity building in the country.
He said the role of the state government in financial management is very critical.
“Actually, you, as the state government, are the closest government body to the South Sudanese people. You know better what are the needs of the people of South Sudan. You know how the situation in the country is, so your role in preparing the budget is very critical,” said Santos
UNDP Senior Economies for South Sudan and Eritrea, Dr. Ligane Sene, said his organization will support South Sudan in realizing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Dr. Ligane encourages TNLA members to emphasize “achieving SDGs in the remaining six years.”
“We want to ensure that this will be achieved by promoting sustainable and increasing economic development,” he said.
The three-day capacity-building workshops will end on Thursday, 22nd 2024.