Central Equatoria Tables SSP108.2 Billion Budget for Legislative Scrutiny

By Kidega Livingstone

The Central Equatoria State Minister of Finance, Planning and Investment has presented a proposed budget of SSP108.2 billion for the 2026/2027 financial year to the State Legislative Assembly for scrutiny and approval.

The proposed budget is expected to focus on addressing security challenges and strengthening the delivery of essential public services, including education, healthcare and agriculture.

State Minister for Finance, Planning and Investment Janet Aya Alex said the budget process had been delayed partly because the national budget process started late, affecting the timing of the state-level preparations.

“The process of the budget started late from the national government and it has affected us as well. We were supposed to start the process early, as of March, as mandated by the Constitution, and normally table it in the first week of June of every year. But we are going to work to ensure that this budget comes early to the August House,” Aya said.

The proposed SSP108.2 billion budget represents a significant increase from the SSP72.3 billion budget for the previous financial year. The State Council of Ministers approved the new budget proposal earlier this month after reviewing the draft budget, draft Appropriation Bill and draft Financial Bill.

The State Ministerial Economic Cluster had also reviewed and incorporated amendments into the draft budget before it was forwarded through the government approval process and eventually submitted to the State Legislative Assembly.

However, detailed allocations for individual sectors, including education, health, agriculture, infrastructure and security, have not yet been publicly disclosed.

Speaker of the Central Equatoria State Legislative Assembly, Taban Emmanuel Baya, said the budget should be viewed not simply as a financial document but as a statement of government priorities and its commitments to the people.

“The budget is going to tell our people where the money will come from, where the money will go and all the services people will receive in return,” Baya said.

He described the budget as a policy document and an agreement between the government and the people, stressing the importance of legislative scrutiny to ensure that public resources are used in line with citizens’ needs.

The proposed budget comes at a time when Central Equatoria faces continued pressure to improve public services, infrastructure, security and revenue collection. The state government has also been pushing measures to strengthen domestic revenue mobilisation, including discussions on electronic taxation.

The State Legislative Assembly is expected to scrutinise the proposed allocations before approving the budget for implementation in the 2026/2027 financial year.

The final budget will determine how the state allocates its available resources among government institutions and priority sectors during the coming financial year.