The government says it has allocated only more than 34 million pounds for the Independence Day celebrations.

However last week, the Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Micheal Makuei Lueth, said the Council of Ministers had approved nearly 130 million for the day.

This caused public outcry, with some citizens questioning how and why the government would spend such an amount of money on a single day’s event when basic sectors such as health, education and security remain wanting.

Opposition political parties criticized the approval, saying the money should be invested in other development projects.

But presidential press secretary Ateny Wek Ateny said yesterday that the reconstruction of the mausoleum is not an immediate project for this year.

He said 90 million would be used to reconstruct the Dr John Garang Mausoleum, where the celebrations will be held in Juba.

He said only the 30 million pounds will be spent on the celebrations.