Parliament: Petroleum, Road’s & Presidential Affairs ministries overspent massively in 2024–2025 budget

2026-03-05 - 09:26

The national parliamentary finance committee has reported that the Ministries of Petroleum, Roads and Bridges and Presidential Affairs overspent their budgets by thousands of percent during the 2024–2025 fiscal year, in what it described as a “gross violation” of the Public Finance Management Act. Michael Ayuen Kuol, presenting a parliamentary finance committee report on Wednesday, said other institutions also exceeded their allocations, including the Financial Intelligence Unit at 2,841 percent and the National Security Service at 1,000 percent. “Some agencies spent far beyond their approved budgets, while others barely used their funds,” Ayuen said, highlighting “a serious breach of financial discipline and accountability.” Michael Ayuen Kuol, presenting a parliamentary committee report on the national budget, said the overspending was “extremely concerning” and violates the country’s Public Finance Management Act. “The committee scrutinized and analysed the fiscal year 2024–2025 national budget implementation and its performance by each and every spending agency,” Ayuen told lawmakers. “In the committee’s analysis we established that some spending agencies overspent their budget greatly, which breached the Public Finance Management Act, while others were under-spent.” He said the Ministry of Petroleum overspent its budget by about 13,000 percent, while the Ministry of Roads and Bridges exceeded its allocation by around 7,000 percent. “This level of overspending is unprecedented,” Ayuen added. “Other agencies also exceeded their limits, including the Ministry of Presidential Affairs at 5,000 percent and the Financial Intelligence Unit at 2,841 percent.” The National Security Service was also flagged for overspending, with figures showing about 1,000 percent above its approved allocation. “Overspending of this magnitude threatens fiscal discipline and undermines accountability in government,” Ayuen said. “It is the responsibility of every agency to adhere to its approved budget and report transparently.” Ayuen further reported that some institutions spent only a tiny fraction of their allocated funds, leaving essential projects underfunded. “The National Elections Commission spent only 0.2 percent, the National Bureau of Statistics 0.5 percent, and the National Constitution Review Commission 0.6 percent,” he said. “Even the South Sudan Medical Commission and Ministry of Environment and Forestry spent less than 1 percent of their budgets.” He criticized the Ministry of Finance and Planning for failing to provide expenditure reports for states and administrative areas. “The outturns were not provided to allow analysis of which state or administrative area overspent or under-spent,” Ayuen said. “This lack of reporting makes it impossible for parliament to ensure accountability across all levels of government.” The committee said its detailed findings and recommendations are included in a report submitted to parliament for further scrutiny and action.