Former members of South Sudan’s Transitional National Legislative Assembly (TNLA) say they have yet to receive 924 vehicles and other financial benefits promised by the former parliamentary leadership, nearly two months after the legislature was dissolved on September 22.
On September 21, former parliament spokesperson Oliver Mori announced that the government planned to provide vehicles to lawmakers under a proposed car-loan scheme. He said President Salva Kiir had approved the purchase and that the then finance minister had issued a non-objection certificate for the process.
In a separate announcement shortly before the dissolution, former Speaker Joseph Ngere Paciko said Kiir would provide 924 vehicles to lawmakers. The announcement came as parliament prepared to pass amendments to the election law that paved the way for the dissolution of the transitional government and allowed Kiir to remain in office with full executive powers until an elected president takes office.
The proposed fleet was estimated to cost about $85 million, although the government has not publicly confirmed the overall cost.
However, several former lawmakers told Radio Tamazuj on Tuesday that they had received none of the promised vehicles and remained owed medical allowances, recess payments and salary arrears.
Bol Joseph Agau, a former lawmaker and senior member of the National Democratic Movement (NDM), said parliamentarians had accumulated years of unpaid entitlements, including annual medical allowances of $30,000 per member.
He said the allowances had not been paid for three years, while payments in the fourth year were made in irregular instalments.
“Every year you pass a budget, there is a budget item called medical funds for the MP, and it is $30,000 each. That had never been paid for three years. And the fourth year was being paid in bits, $2,000, $3,000, $5,000. We don’t even know where it is now, whether it is exhausted or not,” Agau said.
He also cited four years of unpaid floating allowances and outstanding recess allowances, saying lawmakers had sometimes sacrificed their parliamentary breaks to clear a legislative backlog.
Agau added that some former MPs were owed up to 19 months of salary arrears. He said promises made by Paciko in his final address before parliament’s dissolution had not materialised.
“There is no car. I am here speaking to you. I’m using my personal car,” he said.
Peter Lomude Francis, another former lawmaker, said he had received none of the promised vehicles, arrears or other benefits since the dissolution.
“Since the dissolution of the government on the 22nd of September, I’m one of the former MPs who did not see even a penny,” Francis said, adding that the outstanding payments included emoluments and other parliamentary privileges.
He accused parliamentary leaders of making promises they had failed to fulfil and called for greater integrity and accountability in public institutions.
Francis said the Emoluments Act of 2022 provided for parliamentary benefits, including vehicles and sitting allowances, and argued that former lawmakers should receive their legally recognised entitlements.
He also called for stronger parliamentary oversight of public finances and executive officials, saying lawmakers should scrutinise government spending and hold institutions accountable.
Francis blamed corruption and the mismanagement of public funds for the country’s economic difficulties and urged voters to elect representatives committed to oversight and public service rather than political loyalty.
The new finance minister could not immediately be reached for comment on the outstanding payments or the proposed vehicle scheme.
The complaints come as South Sudan prepares for general elections scheduled for December 2026. The ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) has been conducting party primaries and other political activities, while other parties have shown less visible mobilisation ahead of the polls.
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