By Kiden Stela Mandela
South Sudan’s economy has been in distress for nearly a decade now, and the future is uncertain. Institutions overseeing the economy have attempted to address the situation, but their efforts appear to be not succeeding in addressing the situation. This is being manifested in the weaknesses of pounds with the current trend being 1,070 South Sudan pounds per dollar.
The economy is basically the resources and wealth of the country which are turned into production and at the end consumption in terms of goods and services. And it’s the systematic or cautious management of the resources available in the country. As such, monetary value comes into play to measure the standards of the goods and services in order to acquire them, hence, the supply of money in the hands of people, and public treasury or accounts aligned with the economic policy and other laws.
It’s not a surprise for those who have been monitoring how the state of the economy has been handled with the ballooning strength of the dollar against South Sudanese pounds. These are the results of a breakdown of law and order (mismanagement of the resources with impunity), bankruptcies, and insecurity among other things. We are cash strapped economy, as such the hard currency is scarce both in the markets and in the reserves.
The central bank releases dollars to the markets in order to strengthen pounds, and traders to access them, but it lacks backups from other sectors of the economy like production, trade, and infrastructure which in the end supply the money back to the bank.
The lack of a strong economic system, followed by sustainable peace is the one making the lives of the citizens very hard every day. The government needs to factor these very well because what’s holding the country back is the economy if it is collapsing then it may reach a point where even the government’s ability to function is threatened and there will be no service delivery to the citizens.
The government should prioritize peace, security, and combating corruption in public offices to ensure the well-being of civil servants and small retail businesses. This is crucial as it could lead to a difficult time for poor citizens who lack resources. The possibility of people dying secretly or with little information to the leaders is unknown, and this crisis is unbearable in a country like South Sudan with abundant resources. Even today, seeking support from the camp may worsen the situation.
I’m calling on the president of the Republic of South Sudan and other economic institutions to address the public’s concerns about the country’s current economic situation. The government should support its people during difficult times, particularly in the face of a hunger-loss economy.
God Bless South Sudan
Be right there.