The undersecretary, Mary Hillary Wani, openly expressed her disappointment during a recent end-of-year event in Juba, highlighting the crippling impact on staff salaries, mobility, and overall ministry operations.
“We’re facing a severe shortage of staff salaries due to the insufficient budget allocated to our ministry,” Wani declared.
“This hampers our ability to effectively serve the people and hinders our staff’s mobility, essential for proper oversight and engagement,” she added.
Wani’s frustration boiled over into questioning the allocation process itself.
“Who in the Ministry of Finance is responsible for assigning a mere 585 million SSP to the Labor Ministry? This budget allocation is utterly inadequate and hinders our ability to fulfill our crucial mandate,” she stated pointedly.
“I’m deeply disappointed with the top-down budgeting process and the way our budget is designed,” Wani continued.
“Who makes these decisions? How can the Ministry of Finance justify allocating such limited resources to a ministry tasked with overseeing the welfare and rights of South Sudan’s workforce?” she questioned
Expressing hope for reform, Wani concluded, “I urge for a transparent and equitable budgeting process, and I look forward to seeing positive changes with the ongoing public finance reforms.”
This is not the first instance of a South Sudanese ministry voicing discontent with their budget allocation.
The Ministry of Interior recently echoed similar concerns, highlighting the need for a more balanced and responsive budgetary framework.