The Northern Bahr el Ghazal State Minister of Finance and Planning, Peter Dut Akot, on Monday tabled a budget of SSP 40.5 billion for the 2025/2026 fiscal year before the state parliament.
The minister described the budget as a major step toward strengthening development and improving public services across the state.
While presenting the draft budget worth SSP 40,527,769,253, Dut called it “a promise to the people” and urged lawmakers to move quickly to deliberate and approve it.
“This budget is a commitment to the progress of our state,” he said. “I urge you to examine the proposals with diligence and vision, engage in constructive dialogue to refine and strengthen our plan, and approve the budget promptly to ensure that progress is not delayed.”
Minister Dut emphasized that the proposed budget focuses on four critical sectors: education, health, infrastructure, and revenue projection—in addition to other strategic priorities aimed at addressing the state’s development challenges.
As the minister concluded his presentation, Mayen Kon Akot, a state parliamentarian, called for the budget to be immediately referred to the specialized finance committee for deeper evaluation.
“I am here to move the motion that the budget being presented by the honorable minister of finance should be referred to the committee concerned,” he said.
Kon stressed that the state is facing severe economic pressure and that “this year’s budget must focus on improving the economy to relieve citizens from the economic burden.”
His motion was supported by fellow lawmaker Joseph Deng Nguach, who argued that the assembly should not jump into debating the budget at its first reading.
“I second the motion raised by the honorable member, Mayen Kon Akot, to refer the budget to the committee concerned for scrutiny,” Nguach stated. “We cannot deliberate on the budget in the first reading of the budget. It is not the time now to deliberate.”
Following their interventions, the parliament agreed to forward the financial document to the relevant committee for comprehensive study.
The committee is expected to analyze the allocations, propose amendments, and prepare the budget for its second reading.
Northern Bahr el Ghazal State Assembly spokesperson Garang Deng Dut confirmed that the legislative review will continue through the standard three-stage process before the final adoption of the budget.
“Within the third reading, it will be passed,” Garang explained. “It will not be returned to the committee concerned with finance in the parliament. Only with some amendment in the budget, and then they will bring it back to the speaker to sign, and then to the governor, who will assent it into law.”