National, News

Onyoti urges trade minister to regulate market prices

By Kidega Livingstone

 

Minister of Livestock and Fisheries, Onyoti Adigo Nyikuach, has called on the newly appointed Minister of Trade and Industry to work closely with the National Revenue Authority to regulate prices in the markets.

Speaking during a welcoming ceremony for the new trade minister, Adigo stressed the need for minister, Joseph Amoum Majak, to control market prices and stabilize the exchange rate.

“The prices should be regulated by the government; those working at the ministry of trade and national revenue authority should know what they are doing,” Adigo said.

“What I don’t understand is that if the dollar’s exchange rate goes up, it will sometimes come down, but the prices in the market cannot go down.”

The livestock minister expressed his concern that the money collected and circulating in the markets belongs to the government, but some traders have been misusing it by manipulating the exchange rate, which has adversely impacted the South Sudanese pound.

Adigo urged the trade ministry to focus on developing domestic industries to support the country’s trade balance and provide employment opportunities for the people.

He argued that South Sudan cannot rely solely on oil revenues, as that sector is now in decline.

“Change the Ministry (trade ministry) to be useful by bringing the industry so that our people also get employed. People are talking about oil, and it’s now over. You should start collecting revenue so that the country can move ahead,” Adigo said.

The minister emphasized the need for the government and the private sector to work together to address the suffering of the people and stabilize the economy.

Echoing Adigo’s sentiments, a representative from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Paul Malong, said that South Sudan must prioritize the production of its own products to reduce market prices.

“If you don’t produce, forget about the reduction of prices in the markets. We can start small industries and make sure that whatever we are producing has markets, we can be able to promote trade and South Sudan as well,” Malong said.

However, during a recent Economic Forum, Vice President for Infrastructure, Taban Deng Gai, took a different stance, attributing the country’s economic inconsistencies to the “laziness” of the South Sudanese population.

Gai revealed that South Sudanese are “too lazy,” arguing that even the leaders who speak at such forums are “very tired” and cannot complain about a falling economy while leaving Eritreans to do the work.

 

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