By Bida Elly David
South Sudan government is to hire five foreign companies to supply food items to subsidize market prices for citizens in the country.
The National Minister of Trade and Industry, Kuol Athian Mawien, said the strategy aims at curbing food insecurity in the country, amidst ailing economy.
Minister Athian revealed the plan to lawmakers after the August House summoned him to answer queries concerning the economic hardship that hits the market.
He said the government has reached an agreement with the Central Bank to identify some big companies which can exchange the local currency into dollars and supply food items at subsidized prices.
“We have identified five companies with big warehouses that can help supply the country with goods at cheaper prices,” he said.
He noted that the financial transactions for the companies will be handled by the Central Bank so that the necessary clearance is done.
Minister Athian told MPs that the ongoing economic crisis is because the government does not have reserves to curb market inflation.
He admitted that government is struggling to address the economic situation of the country but said that it is a collective responsibility to fight for the nation.
Mr. Athian, however, didn’t disclose the names of the five identified companies as well as the mode of commodity distribution and payments.
He also failed to clarify where the mentioned companies were located and how the shipping process will be conducted.
The minister only promised that with the supply from the five companies, tentative inflation changes would be experienced accordingly.
He said that insecurity and a lack of agricultural tools for farming to support farmers are major factors that have affected the country’s economy, which has zero production.
“South Sudan has fertile land, but the insecurity and lack of support for our farmers have affected the production sector, where there is no food for our citizens, but the government is working on it,” he noted.
He urged the parliament and the entire population to invest much effort towards bringing genuine peace in order to restore the crippled economy that affected the population in one way or another.