A South Sudanese policy analyst has sharply criticized the government’s new plan to stabilize the economy and pay civil servants, accusing the Ministry of Finance of operating outside the law and eroding public trust.
The criticism followed a high-level meeting between President Salva Kiir, Finance Minister Athian Diing Athian, Central Bank Governor, and Vice President for the Economic Cluster Benjamin Bol Mel. The meeting focused on restoring macroeconomic stability, improving fiscal coordination, and updating the president on cooperation between the Ministry of Finance and the Bank of South Sudan on monetary and fiscal policy.
South Sudan’s economy remains in deep crisis after years of conflict, corruption, and heavy dependence on oil, which provides nearly all government revenue. The South Sudanese pound has lost much of its value, sending prices of food, fuel, and other essentials soaring. Inflation remains high, wiping out purchasing power and pushing more people into poverty.
With limited domestic production and widespread insecurity disrupting farming and trade, food shortages are worsening. Civil servants and soldiers often go months without pay, while hospitals and schools suffer from chronic underfunding.
Finance Minister Athian said the meeting focused on strengthening coordination, transparency, and liquidity control measures to stabilize the exchange rate and preserve the value of the local currency. He warned against hoarding South Sudanese pounds and called on law enforcement to crack down on the practice.
Athian also announced that salaries for civil servants had been paid and that members of the armed forces, especially those in remote areas, would receive their wages in cash.
But policy analyst James Boboya called the move unconstitutional, arguing that the government continues to spend money without an approved national budget.
“While paying civil servants is a good gesture, I am appalled by the government’s behavior in refusing to discuss and pass the national budget,” Boboya said. “You cannot run a country without a national budget because it informs expenditure decisions, including how taxes are collected.”
Speaking to Radio Tamazuj, Boboya said all lawful spending must come from an approved budget, which includes an appropriation act signed by the president and a financial bill guiding revenue collection. He warned that ad hoc spending “amounts to poor governance” and undermines public confidence.
“The current approach is a non-starter from both civil society and economic perspectives,” he said. “If economic reforms are discussed outside the legal framework, the economy will never improve.”
Citing Kenya as an example, Boboya said adherence to fiscal laws and political reconciliation had contributed to that country’s relative economic stability. He urged South Sudan’s government to follow a similar path.
“This is the only way forward,” he said. “The government must borrow some of these practices to reduce poverty and ease the suffering of the people.”