A weekly session of the Council of Ministers in Juba - Credit | File Photo

The Minister of Finance and Economic Planning has presented over 200 billion South Sudanese Pounds Fiscal Year budget to the Council of Ministers for deliberations.

Salvatore Garang says the budget is developed against the crude oil that will be produced during this Fiscal Year 2019/2020 .

According to the budget, much of the allocations will go to infrastructure and road constructions.

The proposed budget was tabled before the extra-ordinary Council of Ministers meeting in Juba yesterday.

“The Minister presented two scenarios for the budget. Scenario number one; was a small budget 134 billion, 672 million South Sudanese Pounds, and the other options was 208 billion, 155 million South Sudanese Pounds,” Information Minister, Michael Makuei told reporters.

Makuei says the proposed budget will be tabled before the national parliament after being approved by the Executive, adding that once approved, each ministry will be expected to work within the budget ceiling.

He also said that the budget has factored in the thirty thousand barrel of crude oil per day directed into the off-shore account for infrastructure development in South Sudan.

“Option one is inclusive of 10,000 drums of crude oil per a day for a physical infrastructure and the roads. The second scenario is inclusive of the 30,000 barrels of crude oil per day -also for the infrastructure and road constructions.”

Last month, the government signed an agreement with a Chinese company to construct and upgrade major national and interstate highways.

The roads will connect three regions to the national capital, Juba.

The proposed budget triples the 2018/2019 approved budget.

Last year, the cabinet adopted a budget of 81.6 billion South Sudanese pounds for the 2018-2019 fiscal year, an increase of 75 percent from the previous period.

The government depends mostly on crude oil to fund its budget, but the oil output is less than half its 2012 level of 245,000 barrels per day.