Lastest: Kiir gives $ 25,000 to each MP for medical insurance
South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir Mayardit (Photo: Supplied)
February 29, 2020 (SSNN)—The South Sudanese government has instructed the Ministry of Finance to release a total of 11,250,000 USD, in which each member of Parliament must receive about $ 25,000 for health insurance, according to one of the legislators who spoke on the condition of anonymity since he was not allowed to speak to the media.
However, as the issue comes into sharp focus on social media, citizens have criticized the government for enriching a few individuals within the government as the rest of the population remains impoverished, facing dire humanitarian situations across the country.
The opposition slammed the Transitional National Legislature for enriching itself at the expense of the poor population who have faced one of the deteriorating economic conditions for years as a result of ongoing instability.
“Unfortunately, I heard the TNL paid itself 25,000 USD each member for medical insurance, totaling to 11,250,000 USD. A value, worth ten (10) fully stocked brand new referral hospitals; one (1) in each of the ten (10) states of Republic of South Sudan,” said Nathaniel Oyet Pierino, representative of the SPLM-IO at the National Constitutional Amendment Committee (NCAC).
Oyet argued that the money could have been used for other reasonable purposes instead of spending it on a few individuals in the government.
“Since 2013, the poverty rate in South Sudan has grown more than 7 times among the working class and the village poor who have been wallowing in abject poverty are grinding in hunger, starvations, poor health and illiteracy,” he added.
‘The very poor live side by side with the very rich.”
He questioned the legitimacy of the current Transitional National Legislature, saying that after the Constitution Amendment Bill (2020) was passed into law, the TNL had become legitimate and therefore should have been dissolved.
“As of now the TNL after passing the Constitution Amendment Bill (2020) into law is illegal and should have been dissolved. It continues to exist and functions illegally. Under the new constitution, the membership of TNLA is 550 and the Council of States is awaiting reconstitution.”
“What is the legal basis for the continued existence of TNL?.”
“The TNL has no competence whatsoever to discharge any business on behalf of South Sudan. They cannot allocate resources to pay themselves under whatever name.”
This is not the first time that the TNL has received such a free substantial amount of money from the Kiir administration.
In July 2018, South Sudan’s 400 MPs received a suspicious loan of $40,000 (£30,300) each to buy luxurious cars, a move that sparked public anger.
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