To ensure transparency and accountability in South Sudan, an advocacy group has called for radical reforms as well as the transformation of public financial management systems.
The request from the Center for Peace and Advocacy (CPA) comes only weeks after South Sudan inked a $43.7 million tripartite deal with the African Development Bank (AfDB) to improve private sector entrepreneurship.
Ter Manyang Gatwech, Executive Director of CPA, stated that the grant should be implemented to meet the needs of the targeted beneficiaries.
“The only way for South Sudan’s economy to recover is to put in place strong systems that ensure prudent, transparent, and accountable management of national wealth and resources,” he said.
Last month, Troika member states urged South Sudan to move quickly to implement public financial management reforms, claiming that doing so would demonstrate the government’s commitment to the reform process and boost trust with global partners.
South Sudan made significant progress on public financial management reforms, such as prudent monetary policy, successful foreign exchange reform, and steps toward better public cash management.
According to the Troika, these steps have already benefited South Sudanese citizens through a more stable exchange rate and slower inflation.
Gatwech encouraged the South Sudanese government and those now in charge of economic recovery to continue such measures in accordance with the September 2018 peace deal and South Sudan’s pledges under the International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff supervised program.
“A good monetary policy is critical to sustaining low inflation and a stable exchange rate, both of which will assist shield the people of South Sudan from increasing prices: this implies that the Bank of South Sudan must avoid any monetary financing of the budget deficit,” he said.
Oil earnings account for more than 98 percent of South Sudan’s annual budget.
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