Open Letter to Hon. Athian Ding, Minister of Finance and Planning (16/09/2025)

Subject: Appeal for Accountability on Budget Implementation, Salary Payments, and Incomplete Projects

Hon. Athian Diing-mayendit Athian,

Minister of Finance and Planning,

Republic of South Sudan

Date 16th September 2025

By Baak Chan Yak Deng

Dear Honorable Minister,

With deep respect, I bring to your attention a matter of great national concern on behalf of concerned citizens and civil servants who continue to face hardships despite the annual passing of the national (budget) fiscal year budget. While Parliament approves the fiscal year budget without delay, Year after year, the national budget is passed with hug billions of pounds, yet there has been little, no visible or meaningful improvement in the payment processes for civil servants, the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF), organized forces and in the completion of government projects.

The question I respectfully bring before you are, why is the budget passed every year, yet the challenges in salary disbursement and project implementation remain unresolved? What are the reasons behind this persistent challenge? Why are our civil servants and security forces not receiving their salaries on a monthly basis, despite the allocations approved in the budget?

Civil servants, who are the backbone of our nation’s service delivery, continue to face irregular and delayed salaries payments, which affects their ability to support their families, provide education for their children, and meet their daily needs. When salaries are not paid monthly and consistently, morale drops and productivity declines, leading to poor service delivery in key sectors like education, healthcare, and public administration.

Our national army and organized forces, who sacrifice daily to defend and protect the nation, are especially affected, and their morale continues to suffer when salaries are not provided regularly. This situation undermines stability, productivity, and confidence in government institutions.

At the same time, I observe with concern that many government projects consume significant (Large sums) amounts of public funds on a daily basis, yet they remain incomplete or abandoned. These stalled projects raise serious questions about accountability, transparency, and efficiency in public finance management. The people of South Sudan are asking why projects that should benefit the country or could have transformed communities and contributed to economic growth are instead draining resources without delivering tangible or visible results.

Honorable Minister, I respectfully urge your esteemed office to:

1. Ensure monthly and timely salary payments for civil servants, the SSPDF and all the organized forces without delay by strengthening systems of disbursement.

2. Investigate the reasons behind delays in salary disbursements and address the causes of project stagnation and ensure proper monitoring and evaluation.

3. Strengthen transparency and accountability by making clear reports on how allocated funds are being spent.

4. Put in place corrective measures that will restore public confidence in the Ministry of Finance.

5. Implement strict monitoring and evaluation systems to ensure projects are completed as planned and funds are not wasted.

I strongly believe that with your leadership style, commitment, experience, these critical (challenges) matters can be addressed in the interest and benefit of our people and the growth and stability of our young nation. South Sudan as a country deserves a financial system that is reliable, transparent, and responsive to the needs of its citizens and security forces. For the country to be stable from all the chaos civil servants deserve timely salaries, and our people deserve to see projects completed and serving the public goods.

I therefore appeal to you, Honorable Minister, to take this matter as urgent and critical because it directly touches the lives of millions of South Sudanese who depend on the government for livelihoods, services, and development. I need your action so that government employees, the army, and organized forces can regain their dignity through regular salaries, and our country can see value in the projects funded through public resources.

Thank you for your attention to this vital matter.

With highest respect,

Baak Chan Yak Deng (MAF)

South Sudan Economics Commentator
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