Report

An Analysis of Debt Governance and Domestic Resource Mobilization (DRM): The Case of South Sudan

Prudent debt management has critical linkages to the development processes of any country. It reduces the financial risk the government faces, lowers the economy’s vulnerability to financial shocks, strengthens market infrastructure and institutions needed to support an efficient domestic financial market, and helps foster sound public sector governance practices. Prudent debt management should be anchored on an established debt strategy. Debt management ensures that government’s borrowing needs are met efficiently and that the stock of government debt, and the incremental debt flows arising from budget and off-budget sources, are managed in a manner consistent with the government’s cost and risk preferences. Domestic Resource Mobilization (DRM) refers to the generation of savings from domestic resources and their allocation to economically and socially productive investments. Such resource allocation can come from both the public and private sectors. The public sector does this through taxation and other forms of public revenue generation. DRM is important to African countries, especially South Sudan because it is potentially the biggest and or/ the most reliable source of long-term financing for sustainable development and it is the life blood of all state governance such as the provision of public goods and services. This report provides insights into how domestic resource mobilization and debt governance can be effective tools for economic transformation in South Sudan. The insights shall additionally generate knowledge and information that shall be used by parliamentarians and civic society for advocacy for reforms in the country’s fiscal governance sector. The knowledge and information sharing shall offer an interface between civic actors, legislators and government in many ways.