By Yiep Joseph
As the country witnessed crisis in 2024, a prominent economist suggests government should focus on investment for recovery and relax stress on oil resumption, new year.
Dr. Abraham Maliet Mamer, a senior advisor in the office of the vice president in charge of Economic Cluster, in an exclusive interview with this outlet noted diversification to counter triggers of the current economic crisis.
“The disruption of the flow of oil, need an alternative model to rescue the economy,” he said.
Dr. Maleit appealed to the government to shift its focus from oil to other resources yet to utilize, such as gold minerals, tourism, and agriculture.
“Oil has now become a problem. Sudan war and so on, there are so many things in this oil; just leave it for a while; let us settle for one month or two months, and things will be settled rather than suffering for an unknown period, because we do not know. That is my message. In 2025 we need to focus on other sectors like gold, agriculture, tourism, among others,” Maliet stressed.
He explained that the country’s economy may continue to worsen yearly if the government fails to stop dependence on oil, into practical aspects.
Maliet expressed that throughout 2024, most government officials talked of the government decision to put more efforts on non-oil revenue as an alternative but it has never been realized till now.
Just a few days before the new year 2025, economist Maliet called on the government to disembark from exerting more energy on oil resumption to solve problems of the country but rather implement what it takes to improve the economy.
He added that most government institutions continue to wait for oil money, rather than planning alternative sources to fund activities to generate more income.
“We cannot move because oil money is an obstacle that it will come; now you can see everything on a standstill; even the salaries are waiting for oil money. People have not been paid for almost a year now, and people still say the money will come from the oil,” Maliet said.
“Everything has been put on oil; even our own productivity and innovation will be left a subject when the oil money comes. That is why you are seeing people are not moving; they are not doing anything, not delivering because they are waiting for oil money; it may not come, you never know,” he added.
He reiterated that overdependence on oil money has continued to be a problem for innovative thinking among the leaders.
What should be done?
The economist appealed to the government to fight all sorts of corruption and divert its focus from oil to non-oil revenue.
“We need to completely divert our focus from oil to non-oil, because we have a lot to gain from non-oil; minerals and other materials like forestry that can give a lot of money,” he said.
He added that the government should invest in gum Arabic, which brings a lot of money in the world market.
The economist added that minerals such as gold should not only be made a topic but should be put into reality to help the economy.
Maliet appealed to the government to invest in agriculture, the fish industry, and others to get more money from the international market.
He added that failure by the government to put what it plans into practice is adding to the untapped wildlife, which is a topic that is out of immediate gain.
Political will
The economist added that there is a need for the leaders to put all efforts toward economic recovery by putting all the statements and laws made in 2024 into reality come 2025.
He expressed that South Sudan remains one of the richest countries; when all the available resources are put to use, it can revive its economy and prosper.
He called on the government to focus on agriculture to avoid overdependence on food items from the neighbouring countries.
Recently, Dr. Maliet cautioned that without immediate and decisive action from the Ministry of Finance, the country risks sliding into economic catastrophe.
His concern came at a time when South Sudan pound was seriously depreciating against other major currencies like the United States dollar while prices increase randomly, in the market.
South Sudan, which gained independence in 2011, has been beset by conflict and economic challenges, heavily reliant on oil revenue, which itself has fluctuated due to global market dynamics and internal disruptions.
Efforts to stabilize the economy have been hampered by political instability and a volatile security situation, further complicating recovery.