South Sudan begins a two-day non-oil revenue mobilization conference

Juba, South Sudan,

Tuesday, May 18, 2021 —  South Sudan President H.E Gen. Salva Kiir Mayardit has today opened a non-oil revenue mobilization conference that will last for two days to boost the collaboration between the National Revenue Authority and state governments.

 According to a press statement from the office of the president, the conference aims to build a common consensus in terms of responsibilities and mandates between the National Revenue Authority and the state governments,

According to the organizers, the program aims to:

” identify areas of overlapping taxing jurisdiction and obtain clarity and consensus on which taxes can be imposed by national and State Governments under the existing legal framework;

“share experiences on tax administration best practices in a federal system of Government;

“adopt acceptable and binding solutions for overlapping taxing powers between different levels of Government;

“Establish a standing tax administration forum (sharing of resources, information exchange, modalities of operations to avoid duplication) for the different levels of Government in order to institutionalize regular engagement on tax administration matters; 

“provide preliminary inputs into the envisaged NRA five- year Strategic Plan to ensure that NRA reform agenda is responsive to the needs of tax administration at State levels”

In his opening speech, president Kiir congratulated and acknowledged the performance of the management and staff of the National Revenue authority and urged them to provide adequate support to NRA and management so that they improve their performance. 

The president also recognized the development partners who are supporting the National Revenue Authority in implementing positive reforms, notably the African Development Bank and the United Nations Development Programme, both of whom are supporting the two-day conference. 

Kiir also urged the politicians to allow the National and State Revenue Authorities to work as technical institutions without interfering in their respective legal mandates. 

The president said he will continue to provide the political leadership and support that is needed to sustain the good work of the National Revenue Authority.

The ambiguous program aims to drive the country away from oil dependency.

South Sudan depends on oil almost entirely leaving all other sectors underdeveloped but with internal conflicts and uncertainty in the world oil market, the young nation struggles to fund its own activities.