SSRA Commissioner General Simon Akuei speaks to Eye Radio. April 9, 2025. (Photo: Lou Nelson).

JUBA, (Eye Radio) – The Commissioner General of South Sudan National Revenue Authority (SSRA) Simon Akuei Deng said he has set a 200 billion South Sudan pound target for revenue collection by the middle of this year.

Mr. Akuei said the SSRA has been tasked by the Ministry of Finance and Planning to raise 90 billion South Sudan pounds monthly.

But for the past three months, the agency collected an average of SSP100 million routinely, surpassing the monthly target. This is shown in the March 2025 collection of SSP 132.6 billion, exceeding the target of 92 billion South Sudan Pounds.

Nimule border post alone generated SSP36 billion for March, surpassing collections at around 30 billion pounds.

The SSRA boss further stated that the tax collecting institution’s current focus is to reach the 200 billion pound-mark before the new financial year-2025-2026 begins.

According to him, the set target is a test of South Sudan taxpayers’ abilities to run the country with non-oil revenue collections. Mr. Akuei said reaching the target will be a milestone achievement for the finance institutions.

“Before the next budget and that means to say by June, together as the private sector, government, and the non-tax institutions, we should focus on how we can reach the 200 billion mark by June 30,” he said in an interview with Eye Radio.

“This will be an achievement to finance because we want to test ourselves. All of us South Sudanese, the investors, whoever is involved in running South Sudan, can we finance our budget? Yes. Together with the resources that we have and revenue collections, we can finance our budget.”

The revenue boss stressed that revenue collection is the responsibility of every citizen working in South Sudan to pay their taxes to the government.

Commissioner General Akuei also appealed to relevant institutions collecting taxes to remit their collections to the government coffers.

“We have the responsibility associated with the need to finance our budget. And for us to do that, we must work hard, work together to be able to finance that. Second, for compliance issues, we must also be complying.”

“Because tax is a voluntary responsibility from every citizen, from every company, from every government institution that is supposed to collect taxes. It is a responsibility. I know some of the international agencies are not also in compliance.”

“I appeal to all of us that whatever you collect and you remit to the government, it is going to be used correctly. It is going to be well used for the benefit of South Sudan, not for our interests.”

In February, the Economic Cluster exposed non-complying and partially-complying revenue collecting agencies and directed them to fully remit the dues into the bank account of  Ministry of Finance and Planning.

Among the non-complying agencies were the ministries of Wildlife, Tourism and Conservation, Electricity, Environment and Forestry, Civil Defense, Education, Lands, Health, Finance, and South Sudan Prisons Service.

Other non-complying institutions include South Sudan Media Authority, Roads, Urban Water Cooperation, and Juba Teaching Hospital.

Meanwhile, partially complying institution were named as the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, National Communication Authority, the Ministry of Trade and Industry and South Sudan Civil Aviation Authority.

Others were Directorate of Traffic Police, Petroleum Ministry and the Directorate of Civil registry, National Passport and Immigration.