SAI South Sudan secures technical peer support and funding from Norway to help improve governance

The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs through the INTOSAI Development Initiative (IDI) grants over NOK 15 million to the South Sudan National Audit Chamber (NAC) for the implementation of its strategic plan. The IDI, together with SAI Kenya and AFROSAI-E, will work closely with the NAC for a five-year period to enable the office to implement key strategic priorities including those relating to the Peace Agreement.

NAC has developed a Strategic Plan for 2019-2024 that clearly aims to meet the obligations of the peace agreement and for it to contribute to better public financial management in South Sudan. This includes expanding the audit coverage of government at the central level, as well as at state and local level.

The main goal of the project is to enable the NAC to implement their strategic plan, especially in the areas of auditing, new legal framework, stronger internal governance, new ICT-systems, HR-management, professional development and training, stakeholder engagement, communication and general coordination with partners. A combination of technical advice and logistical support will be provided.

“We in the National Audit Chamber are strongly committed to play our part for improving governance in South Sudan, and the implementation of the peace agreement. Our strategic plan is our guiding document, and together with our peers and the financial support of the Norwegian embassy, I am sure we can achieve great results over the next years,” says Amb. Steven Wöndu, Auditor General of South Sudan.

South Sudan is currently in a very challenging economic, political, security and humanitarian situation. The Revitalized Peace Agreement (R-ARCSS) of September 2018 provides for a number of steps to be taken to improve the situation, hereunder strengthening public financial management and NAC.

“The National Audit Chamber can play a key role in improving public financial management in South Sudan,” says the Norwegian Ambassador to South Sudan Siv Kaspersen. “Efficient and transparent use of public funds is critical for continued stability and trust building in South Sudan. Through their audits, the audit office can show what the government, Parliament and stakeholders can do to enhance accountability and transparency. Our expectation is that the NAC will get an enhanced capacity and independence in the next years as clearly stated in the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS).”

The Office of the Auditor General of Kenya have allocated experienced staff as trainers for both ongoing audits as well as organizational development. “We in Kenya have gone through a journey over the last ten years where we have systematically enhanced our capacities and audit products. We look forward to share our experiences with our brothers and sisters in South Sudan, and also enjoy taking part in the project to learn from our peers,” says Ms Nancy Gathungu, Auditor General of Kenya.

AFROSAI-E has provided capacity development support in the region since 2005. “AFROSAI-E serves all English-speaking SAIs in the region, and we are very impressed by how NAC as a young institution has developed over the last ten years in spite of the very difficult environment they operate in. We look forward to continue as a long-term partner (alongside other partners, peers and donors) for NAC and utilize the great peer network and resources in the region,” says Ms Meisie Nkau, CEO of AFROSAI-E.

“We in IDI are grateful to MFA Norway for the grant as it enables us to step up our support and meet the request for support of an ambitious audit office,” says IDI Director General Mr. Einar Gørrissen. “Worldwide experiences of SAI capacity development show that peer-to-peer cooperation is the preferred option for recipient SAIs and provides a good mechanism for sustainable and long-term capacity development support.”

For more info about the project, contact the NAC Deputy Auditor General, Dr. Justin Droko ([email protected]) or IDI Project Manager Jostein F. Tellnes ([email protected]). See also more documents and info here: South Sudan (idi.no)