Leaked memo reveals $200,000 “leadership allowances” approved at Finance Ministry

JUBA – A leaked internal document from the Ministry of Finance and Planning has revealed how senior officials approved and distributed more than $200,000 in what was described as “leadership allowances” for top management during the tenure of Dr Barnaba Bak Chol.

The document dated January 29, 2026, was authored by Bidit Nhial Deng, the ministry’s Director General for Administration and Finance, during the tenure of former Finance Minister Barnaba Bak Chol. It requests approval for a total of $205,000 to be distributed internally among the ministry’s senior leadership for February 2026.

According to the memo, the allowances were justified by what the author described as the “conditions and circumstances” facing senior officials in the ministry.

“With compliments, I am writing to your cherished office for the approval of the above-mentioned amount being a rudimentary leadership allowance of the ministry,” the document reads. “The condition and the circumstances of our senior leadership is compelling. This obliged me to request on their behalf.”

The memo then asks for “compassion and approval” of the amount as soon as possible.

A breakdown attached to the document shows how the funds were to be distributed among top officials. The minister was allocated $25,000, while the deputy minister was assigned $20,000. Two undersecretaries were to receive a combined $30,000, while ten directors general were allocated a total of $100,000.

Additional payments included $20,000 for two heads of special units, $5,000 for the security operations department, and another $5,000 for police.

The leak surfaces amid heightened scrutiny of the ministry’s leadership following the dismissal of Minister Barnaba Bak Chol on February 23, 2026, barely three months after his reappointment.

Less than a week later, security forces arrested him at the Nimule border while he was allegedly attempting to cross into Uganda carrying tens of thousands of dollars in cash.

Financial controversies have long surrounded the ministry. In 2020, leaked documents showed that then Finance Minister Salvatore Garang authorized 30 million South Sudanese pounds—worth more than $100,000 at the time—to cover funeral expenses for his son.

Records from the same period also indicated that he approved an additional monthly payment of four million pounds for what was described as house and office “emergency maintenance.”

The payments were approved during a period when the government publicly acknowledged severe financial constraints and warned that it lacked sufficient reserves to pay public sector salaries.

However, President Salva Kiir, who claims to be seeking solutions to the country’s ailing economy, reappointed Garang as Barnaba’s successor in February, intensifying public debate over his commitment to transparency and accountability.