By Charles K Mark
South Sudan pound has depreciated further against the United States Dollar, shaking the prices of goods in the markets.
No. 1 Citizen Daily Newspaper has established that in the parallel market, a dollar trades between 1,140 SSP and 1,210 SSP, while the Central Bank has not released its official updated rates.
As the exchange rates shoot up, some of entrepreneurs are now feeling the pitch of the depreciation.
Simon Thon, a money transfer agent in Munuki’s Suk Libya, said to buy a float for his business he must use US Dollars, but to acquire a note of $100 he pays 117,000 or 118,000SSP.
“As I told you, if you have pounds and you need dollars, it is 121,000SSP. But if you have dollars and you need pounds, it is 118, 000. That means if it continues not to be there, it will increase,” he said.
He said it is because of the season that many people who hold the dollar have decided to keep it making the demand too high in yet a scarce situation.
The trader fears that if nothing changes, many business people, him inclusive will close down their ventures.
“For us to buy floats from Uganda or Kenya, we need dollars, no one will give you a float when you present your SSP. It is not stable. You cannot take it right now because tomorrow it will lose value,” Thon emphasized.
Another money transfer agent Miriam Suraya Ibrahim urged the government to consider an urgent intervention to rescue the business operators.
She said for her, she buys the foreign currency at 112,000SSP per $100 and sells it at 121,000SSP because that is the situation at hand.
“Let the government do something, even if it means pouring money on the streets so that there will be availability and prices will stabilize,” Suraya urged.
The trader said she used to make at least a million South Sudanese pounds out of her transfer business but now even three customers go while complaining.
“When we go to wholesalers to buy float we can’t present to them South Sudan Pounds. But now if we use much SSP to Acquire dollars that means we shall float and a high rate and sell less,” she revealed.