A gold-mining site in Faka, Ngauro area, Eastern Equatoria State | Credit | Jale Richard/Eye Radio

A member of the national parliament has questioned the logic under which the Ministry of Mining and the mining sector “do not pay taxes” to the South Sudan Revenue Authority.

Honorable Grace Abalang voiced the concern during a parliamentary sitting held on Wednesday to approve the revenue authority bill 2023 in Juba.

She alleged that there has not been remission of revenue and taxes from the country’s mining sector in the last 14 years.

Lawmaker Grace is appealing to the Minister of Mining Martin Gama Abucha to disclose the whereabouts of revenue from the gold mining.

“We want to know from the Minister, where is the revenue from the gold comrade minister, there are gold in Eastern Equatoria, Central Equatoria, Raja and all over where is the revenue from Western Equatoria,” Ms Abalang said.

“Where is the revenue from gold you are living only individual to benefit from the gold and our people are languishing in poverty Hon. Minister what’s happening?”

According to her, some individuals whom she declined to identify, only benefit from the gold while majority of South Sudanese are languishing in poverty.

She called on the Revenue Authority to collect taxes from the mining sector and transfer their revenues to the state treasury.

“If you are not capable of managing the ministry, you better tell us here in this parliament because comrade minister, we cannot allow few individual to benefit from the gold of South Sudan for over 14 years and the ministry is there which is supposed to be making polices.”

Responding to the concerns, the Commissioner-General of South Sudan Revenue Authority, admitted that the Ministry of Mining doesn’t pay taxes due to lack digitalization.

Africano Mande said the Minister of Mining doesn’t have control over the Mining sector in South Sudan, while adding that most of the alluvial gold are being exported outside the country without being taxed.

Mande revealed that the majority of gold sold on the streets and Kenyan institutions is from South Sudan.

“I believe the Hon. Minister even doesn’t have control over it because there are people out there that are mining alluvial gold, and they are being exported and I have the record that much of the gold that are sold in the streets or in the institutions in Kenya come from the Republic of South Sudan,” Mande said.

He adds: “The records are there they were given to us by the Ministry of Trade, and they were given to us by the Kenya Revenue Authority.”

He called on the Minister to set up refineries to mine gold and other minerals in the country and make them made in South Sudan

Mande emphasized on the need for a digitalized revenue collection in the mining sector.

“So, we are saying for us in the Revenue Authority when we digitalized, we want to have visibility but there are conditions that come with that, and it will require that the Ministry of Mining will have to setup a mining refinery.”

“Mining gold is not a crime in this country it is not a sin for you to mining take to the Ministry of Mining let it be refined they can buy from you let it be refined and by the time its stamped this where we come in and take our taxes from it.”

The Minister of Mining, Martin Abucha was present in the parliament, but he was not given a chance to respond to the issue.