For the first time, South Sudanese citizens will have the opportunity to participate in the national budget process as the parliamentary committee for finance engages with civil society ahead of a public hearing on the 2025-2026 Fiscal Year Budget.
The preparation process has begun, with civil society organizations receiving a draft copy of the financial bill on Monday from the National Parliament committee responsible for the budget.
Civil society groups in the country are now encouraging citizens to share their opinions on the 2025-2026 fiscal year budget.
Edmund Yakani, a leader in the civil society sector and executive director of the Community Empowerment Progressive Organization (CEPO), urged citizens to submit their views on the draft budget to be compiled and submitted for hearing.
“As a civil society activist, I would like to call on citizens to note that the financial bill for the financial year 2025-2026, it touches our every single life in South Sudan,” Yakani stated.
“I would like to take this opportunity to ask citizens who want to make an observation or want to raise their opinions on the content of our financial year 2025-2026 bill. We have copies in the office. Come and submit to us your opinion as a citizen on the financial year bill 2025-2026, and we shall compile it and present it during the public hearing.”
He praised the leadership of the National Assembly for informing civil society organizations early, noting that representatives from ten states and three administrative areas will be involved.
“I wish that the citizens will come to the parliament to attend the public hearing so that we scrutinize the financial year 2025-2026 budget bill because this bill impose taxes that we need to pay and these taxes are supposed to be returned in form of services to us,” Yakani appealed.
Activist Yakani, also called on academic institutions, especially the University of Juba, the Catholic University, and other universities with economics faculties, to contribute their scholarly insights on the national budget.
“For scrutinizing the bill and making an academic observation on how the budget looks as a civil society, we will deliver copies of this financial bill to Juba University faculty of economics, Catholic University, and other universities that they are pleased to reach out to us and want to see during the public hearings and academic observation on our national budget,” he added.
In past, South Sudan’s budget processes have faced criticism for lacking transparency and sufficient public involvement.
