South Sudan’s cabinet has tabled a draft national budget for the 2025/26 financial year that heavily prioritizes military, intelligence, and security services, allocating hundreds of billions of South Sudanese pounds (SSP) to these sectors despite acute food insecurity, economic hardship, and ongoing humanitarian needs.
According to draft documents, the security sector remains the dominant recipient of state funds.
The Ministry of Defence receives the largest single allocation at 325.8 billion SSP—a reduction from the previous year’s revised spending but still far exceeding other ministries.
The National Security Service (NSS), the country’s primary intelligence agency, is budgeted 159.7 billion SSP, a sharp increase from its initial 2024/25 allocation of 58.7 billion SSP. Alarmingly, NSS actual expenditure last year reached 682.6 billion SSP—more than ten times the original budget—with no clear explanation provided in the documents.
Additional security-related funding includes:
- 103.4 billion SSP for Veteran Affairs
- 40 billion SSP for “Defence and Organised Forces” under a peace implementation fund
- 6.9 billion SSP for the Presidential Guard
- 1.02 billion SSP for the National De-Mining Authority
- 7.97 billion SSP combined for military training and logistics
The total proposed expenditure stands at 8.58 trillion SSP, against projected revenue of 7.0 trillion SSP, creating a deficit of 1.58 trillion SSP.
Oil revenues are expected to contribute 5.22 trillion SSP, with non-oil income at 1.78 trillion SSP.
In stark contrast, social sectors receive far less.
The Ministry of Agriculture is allocated 130.9 billion SSP despite nationwide food insecurity, while health services rely heavily on donor funding rather than direct government support.
The draft Appropriation Bill includes accountability clauses, allowing accounting officers who misuse funds to be barred from public office and required to repay misappropriated amounts.
However, the NSS’s massive unexplained overspending last year has fueled skepticism about enforcement.
Broad expenditure lines raise further concerns: the NSS budget features 149.6 billion SSP for “Incentives and Overtime,” 75.0 billion SSP for “Pension Contributions,” and 77.2 billion SSP across three “Foreign Station Groups.”
Defence allocations similarly include large sums for “Use of Goods and Services” with minimal public breakdown.
South Sudan remains in a fragile transitional period under the 2018 Revitalised Peace Agreement, with security sector reform incomplete.
Renewed fighting between the SSPDF and SPLA-IO in Jonglei and other areas since December 2025 highlights persistent instability.
Finance Minister Dr. Barnaba Bak Chol presented the draft budget to parliament earlier this week. Lawmakers will now debate the proposal.Notably, the budget was submitted seven months late, breaching the timeline set by Article 88(1) of the Constitution.
