Non Oil Revenue Reforms Reviewed in Juba

(JUBA) – The South Sudan Revenue Authority has held talks with a delegation from the African Development Bank to review progress under the NORMA II project.

The Commissioner General of the South Sudan Revenue Authority, Rizig Dominic Samuel, received the delegation on Monday.

The delegation is visiting Juba from 12th to 17th October 2026 to review progress on the ISP SEG and NORMA SS projects.

The delegation was led by Fauzia Haji, Officer in Charge of the AfDB South Sudan Country Office, and Abdiwahab Ali, Senior Governance Specialist based in Nairobi.

The talks focused on progress under NORMA II and other priorities of the revenue authority requiring the bank’s continued support.

NORMA stands for Non Oil Revenue Mobilisation and Accountability. The project is financed by the African Development Fund.

According to the African Development Bank, NORMA II was approved in June 2024 with an 8.6 million US Dollar grant. The African Development Fund provided 6.62 million US Dollars, while 1.98 million US Dollars came from the fund’s Transition Support Facility .

NORMA SS Phase I began in 2017 and laid the foundation for domestic revenue reforms. NORMA II builds on these efforts by strengthening tax administration, improving revenue collection systems and promoting compliance with tax obligations .

The African Development Bank reported in July 2025 that the first phase of the project helped increase non oil revenue collections from about 154,000 US Dollars in the 2017 to 2018 fiscal year to more than 217 million US Dollars in 2024 to 2025 .

The bank stated that non oil revenue still represents a small share of the national budget, rising from just 2 per cent in 2024 to an estimated 6 per cent of GDP. This remains below the regional average of 13 per cent .

The reforms aim to increase non oil revenue and reduce South Sudan’s dependence on oil. Oil accounts for roughly 90% of government revenues .

NORMA II focuses on developing the revenue authority’s information technology systems to improve revenue administration, tax collection and tax compliance. It also aims to broaden the tax base, particularly value added tax, hotel tax and property tax .

The African Development Bank has stated that the project will procure IT equipment for the tax authorities, while officials will receive technical assistance and on the job support from embedded advisors .

The meeting reaffirmed the importance of continued cooperation between the revenue authority and the African Development Bank.

The cooperation focuses on strengthening the authority’s institutional capacity, modernising revenue administration and improving services to taxpayers across South Sudan.