CEPO Director Edmund Yakani | Photo: Awan Moses/Eye Radio.

Civil society activist Edmund Yakani is calling on President Salva Kiir to call off the recess just declared by Speaker Jemma Nunu Kumba, until the August House passes the supplementary budget.

In August 2023, Finance Minister Dr. Bak Barnaba Chol pledged an additional budget that will increase the salaries of government employees by 600 percent.

This was during the reading of the contentious fiscal year 2023-2024 budget.

Minister Bak was supposed to table the supplementary budget to be passed by the parliament – at least before the Christmas and New Year festivities.

However, Speaker Nunu on Thursday announced that the national lawmakers will go on a 6-week recess until the first week of February 2024.

In an interview with Eye Radio, Yakani, the head of Community Empowerment for Progress Organization said he is disappointed over the delayed tabling of the budget.

He appealed to President Kiir to call off the recess and order Finance Minister Bak to table the additional budget, which he said is critical for peace implementation and the increment of civil servant’s salaries by 600 percent.

“Before the parliament breaks for recess, Honorable Minister of Finance needs to present the supplementary budget and if it is possible, I would hope that His Excellency President should call the recess off until the parliament enact a supplementary budget,” he said.

“The Minister of Finance should be directed urgently to present supplementary budget to the parliament.”

Yakani said the adjourned passing of the supplementary budget means the budget for peace implementation could be pushed to the 2024-2025 fiscal year budget – a situation which he said is a recipe for another extension of the transitional government.

“If we don’t have any supplementary budget now, it means we are going to have elections budget during the new financial year for 2024/2025 budget, and this automatically means an extension of the transitional period.”

“We are calling upon the members of the Presidency, there is urgent need for you to meet and handle this issue of supplementary budget or declare for us that there is a consolidated fund of the country, and elections will be funded through the consolidated fund.”

“And we hope that, that the declaration should be made before the country breaks for Christmas and before the parliament breaks for recess.”

Recently, First Deputy Speaker of the national parliament said government programs are likely to be affected in 2024, should the minister of finance and planning fail to table a supplementary budget this month.

Oyet Nathaniel said if the supplementary budget is not tabled this year, the conduct of the permanent constitution-making process, population census, and subsequently elections may not take place.