African Development Bank calls for prudent management of public funds in South Sudan

JUBA, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- The African Development Bank (AfDB) on Tuesday said prudent management of non-oil revenues during the revitalized transitional period will spur the growth of the economy and facilitate national reconstruction.

Benedict Kanu, AfDB Country Manager for South Sudan, said financial institutions in the east African nation should be transparent and accountable to the public.

According to the revitalized peace deal, the transitional unity government is mandated to carry out radical reforms and transformation of public financial management systems to ensure transparency and accountability.

Last week, South Sudan announced the recruitment of a Tanzanian national, Patrick Magoya as the new commissioner general for the National Revenue Authority, in an effort to boost non-oil revenue collection in the country amidst a collapsing economy.

Magoya is the second foreign national to head the National Revenue Authority after the sacking of a Ghanaian, Olympio Attipoe in 2019.

Alain Noudehou, UN resident coordinator for South Sudan, said proper public financial management is important for the prosperity and development of the war-torn, but oil-rich world's young country.

"Managing public financial management in South Sudan is very key for the country's ability to recover and the country's own development going forward. When you talk about public financial management, there are two parts. One part is how you generate revenue; the other part is how you spend it. Either way, you have to do it in a way that is transparent, efficient and also effective," Noudehou said.

The officials were speaking during the welcoming ceremony of the new national revenue authority boss organized by the Ministry of Finance.

Garang Majak, First Undersecretary in the Ministry of Finance, said the new team at the national revenue authority would help the country overcome challenges in revenue collections for the government to pay expenses like salaries on time.

"We know very well, we are facing a lot of economic challenges. But with the new team, they will make sure that sufficient and effective mechanisms are designed to collect sufficient revenues to make sure that we prioritize our financial obligation, our financial services to the government and to the people of South Sudan," Majak said. Enditem