By Yiep Joseph
Governor of the Bank of South Sudan (BoSS), Johnny Ohisa Damian, has urged Forex Bureau managers to diversify their trading practices beyond just hard currencies.
During a meeting with representatives from the Forex Bureau aimed to discuss best practices for improving the economy, Governor Ohisa highlighted the importance of licensing Forex Bureaus to address challenges posed by the increasing presence of unlicensed market dealers.
He emphasized the necessity of raising public awareness about the critical role of Forex Bureaus and aligning their operations with emerging market trends.
He also called for collaboration across various sectors, including Forex Bureaus, to combat the growing black market.
The governor reaffirmed the government’s commitment to enhancing the economy.
On his part, the First Deputy Governor, Samuel Yeni Costa, further advocated for exploring alternative trading methods, including mobile money services, to help Forex Bureaus diversify their offerings and remain competitive.
He called on the Forex Bureau operatives to continue to cooperate with the government in all the policies meant to improve the economy.
On his part, Director General for Banking Supervision and Financial Stability Chan Andrea reiterated the need for diversification of business models and integrating additional financial services, which are vital to the sustained success of Forex Bureaus in the evolving market landscape.
On his part, Mayiik Akok Alou, the Deputy Chairperson of the Forex Bureau Union, expressed their appreciation for BoSS’s support in strengthening the sector.
He described the discussions as productive, with a focus on exploring new opportunities for enhancing the sector’s performance.
In October 2024, the Bank of South Sudan unveiled the Strengthening South Sudan’s Financial Sector (3SF), a USD 18 million initiative designed to enhance the country’s financial system.
This project, whose objective is to strengthen the institutional and supervisory capacity of the Bank of South Sudan and improve the efficiency of core financial sector infrastructure, will run for 5 years until September 2028.
According to the bank’s management, the project’s main objectives include investing in strengthening the regulator.
The project intends to formulate financial sector policies, establish a banking and financial institute, develop a financial sector development strategy and roadmap for the Bank, provide technical assistance and capacity building for BoSS staff on financial sector development, and develop a monitoring framework to assess implementation, among other things.