By Bida Elly David
The Bank of South Sudan has strongly warned Market dealers amid speculating the market stating rumours regarding shortage of the United States Dollars in the future.
This came after rampant devaluation and consistent skyrocketing of commodity prices have hit the market creating passivity of market imbalance.
Speaking to journalist on Saturday, Moses Makur, the Central Bank governor blamed market speculators for being key drivers towards market imbalance.
“The reasons for the devaluation of the local currency and the persistent increase in the prices of goods and services were due to the negative speculation of Market by dealers telling merchants that in the nearest future there will be high shortage in dollar. That is why market has become inelastic and relative depreciation of the local currency in relation to the United State Dollars became one of the factors. We are therefore warning the so call market dealers to immediately stop speculating the market thinking that they would control it through their motives’’ he said.
He said that the current market dealers involved in the speculation of the currency are specialised money sellers and buyers as well as some officials from the government.
“Market dealers are officially defined as dealers that are understandable. Based on facts, a market dealer is anybody who buys and sells in the market foreign currency whether they are well known or officials. Mostly, market dealers and speculators may be officials in the government and traders. They are the ones causing the continuous currency speculation in the Money market. The depreciation of the South Sudanese Pounds as well as the continuous inflation in the market are caused by these market dealers who find ways day and night to ensure that things move the way they like’’.
Furthermore, Moses added that those market dealers to don’t care on the welfare of the poor or rich but rather fighting to meet their goals by continuous speculation of the market.
“These market dealers do not know whether there are poor people or rich. Their mandate is to speculate the market to meet their obligation. And these people are rich with resources. If they see that government plays a role to put things right they hide beyond doubts’’.
However, Central Bank has promised to take measure against those dealers and promised to inject more money into the market to reduce random speculation such that market reaches equilibrium level.
“Speculators think that by trading money, they would control the market but I want to ensure them that we enough reserves to control the market. We have planned to be auctioning million dollars to ensure that the local currency gains value and prices reduce it its initial level’’ Makur stated.