South Sudan’s unity gov’t told to expedite review of petroleum acts

JUBA – South Sudan’s Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity (R-TGoNU) has been told by the Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (R-JMEC) to expedite the review and implementation of the 2012 petroleum and petroleum revenue management acts.

The two acts were drafted in 2012, a year before the country could emerge in a deadly conflict in 2013. They were meant to government how the oil is exploited and used for the country’s development.

Speaking during the 14th R-JMEC meeting on Wednesday, the peace monitoring body’s chairperson, General Charles Tai Gattuai said provisions of the revitalized peace agreement that are related to economic reforms in the country have been slow, calling for improvement of the country’s financial system for transparent budget.

“The overall implementation of the Resource, Economic and Financial Management provisions in Chapter 4 of the Revitalised Agreement has been slow. I note that the Ministry of Finance has commenced work on implementing Public Financial Management reforms, and has prioritized some activities intended to ensure the accountable and transparent management of resources,” Gattuai told the meeting.

“Accordingly, an accountable and transparent budget is central to achieving this. In this context, although I understand some progress has been made recently, it is of concern that the budget for the present fiscal year has not yet been passed, and I would be interested to hear any updates on this matter,” he added.

Her said there was need as provided for in teh revitalized peace agreement for the R-TGONU to review and implement the Petroleum Act of 2012, and the Petroleum Revenue Management Act of 2012 which mandate the government to close any accounts not approved by laws.

“The R-TGoNU is also required to expedite the review and implementation of the Petroleum Act 2012 and Petroleum Revenue Management Act 2012 as per article 4.7.1 and 4.8.1.1 of the Peace Agreement,” he said.

“Furthermore, the required reforms of the oversight institutions have lagged, notably the Anti-Corruption Commission and National Audit Chamber. Also behind schedule is the establishment of the Economic and Financial Management Authority, which is a central institution to ensure the transparent and accountable management of South Sudan’s resources. I would be interested to hear of any relevant progress in these tasks I mentioned, which is due,” Gattuai further said.