Michael Makuei Lueth, Minister of Information during a cabinet meeting on 10th July 2020. | File Photo/Eye Radio

The Council of Ministers on Friday approved a fiscal year budget of 1.8 trillion South Sudanese pounds for 2023-2024 with a proposal to increase salaries by 400 percent.

Information Minister Michael Makuei Lueth said the budget was approved primarily for peace implementation and stabilization of the dwindling economy.

Speaking to reporters, Makuei said the Minister of Finance and Planning has been directed to incorporate amendments from the cabinet before tabling the budget before the parliament.

“The budget proposed is for the sum of 1.8 trillion pounds. This budget was deliberated upon, and all the ministries, all the ministers concerned had their inputs and deliberations,” he said.

“After a thorough discussion, the cabinet decided to pass the budget with some amendments because there are some ministries that had concerns about some issues.”

“And as such the Minister of Finance was directed to look into these concerns after which they will put the budget in its final form before tabling it before the Transitional National Legislature for consideration.”

The budget presentation reportedly proposed a sum of SSP.50 billion ($50 million) to be allocated for the payment of accumulated arrears of all the national ministries.

Minister Makuei did not go into detail about the sum of the arrears.

The budget presentation also proposed SSP.50 billion ($50 million) for peace implementation and SSP.47.9 billion ($48 million) for Constituency Development Fund.

The Constituency Development Fund program was adopted by the former Southern Sudan Legislative Assembly in 2007 to directly boost rural development.

But it was suspended following the 2013 conflict for unknown reasons.

In March this year, President Kiir directed the Minister of Finance and Planning to pay the withheld ten-year CDF arrears to national lawmakers for infrastructural development in their constituencies.