Parliament urged to probe Crawford capital digital revenue system

2026-03-09 - 09:07

A civil society activist is urging lawmakers in South Sudan to investigate growing tensions surrounding the role of Crawford Capital, a private firm contracted by the government to collect revenue through a digitalized system. The call comes amid disagreements among senior government officials over the management and transparency of the digital revenue collection platform. Executive Director of the Community Empowerment for Progress Organization, Edmund Yakani, appealed to members of the national parliament to take decisive action to address what he described as increasing concerns about transparency and accountability in the system. Yakani said civil society groups are troubled by the ongoing debate and friction among national leaders regarding the firm’s operations. He added that there are fears of possible manipulation and a lack of clarity on the amount of revenue being collected through the digital platform. “I appeal to our lawmakers in the national parliament to take very robust action towards this tension that is going on among our leaders at the national government associated with Crawford Capital firm that is involved in our digitalized revenue collection system,” Yakani said. “We are worried. We are disturbed and we can realize now that there’s a lot of manipulation, lack of transparency in showing clearly how much revenue is collected through our digital system.” Yakani called on lawmakers to establish a thorough investigation to clarify the role and performance of Crawford Capital in managing the digital revenue collection platform entrusted to it by the government. He said that it is common practice in many countries for governments with limited technical capacity to outsource digital revenue collection to private firms. However, he stressed that such arrangements must operate within constitutional and legal frameworks that guarantee transparency and accountability. “It is best practice across the world that once government has limited capacity to collect revenue using a digitalized system, they can assign a private firm,” Yakani said. “But the firm should perform within the parameters of constitutional obligation and legal frameworks that emphasize transparency and accountability in public finance management.” He emphasized that proper oversight of revenue collection is essential to ensure that public funds are accounted for and used to deliver services to citizens. Yakani warned that lack of transparency in revenue collection could undermine public trust and put citizens at risk, particularly when taxes collected from businesses and individuals are not translated into improved services. The call for an investigation follows a recent disagreement between senior government officials over the digital payment system. Last week, Vice President James Wani Igga and the parliamentary Committee on Trade and Industry challenged the decision by the Ministry of Trade to suspend the Crawford Capital digital payment system. The suspension followed a March 5, 2026 memo from Trade Minister Atong Kuol Manyang Juuk ordering a 90-day review due to operational challenges, including poor network connectivity, limited staff training, unreliable electricity, and unstable internet services. Authorities say the review is intended to assess the system and address operational gaps in the country’s digital revenue collection process.