Currency Jitters Meet Presidential Planning
President Salva Kiir convened Finance Minister Athian Diing Athian, Central Bank Governor Moses Makur Deng, and Vice-President for the Economic Cluster Benjamin Bol Mel to craft an urgent response to inflation, currency weakness, and unpaid public salaries.
Officials agreed to tighten fiscal coordination and liquidity controls, aiming to steady the South Sudanese pound, whose slide has lifted food and fuel prices to record highs, eroding income for urban workers and rural traders alike.
First Salaries, Then Questions
Minister Athian announced that civil-service arrears were cleared and soldiers in remote garrisons would receive cash payments, a gesture welcomed by unions that had threatened strikes after months of silence on pay dates.
He also warned traders against hoarding local currency, saying security agencies would enforce new limits designed to temper speculation and reinforce confidence in the pound.
Constitutional Alarm Bells
Policy analyst James Boboya, speaking to Radio Tamazuj, countered that spending without an enacted budget contravenes constitutional procedure and risks deepening mistrust between citizens and state institutions.
‘You cannot run a country without a national budget because it informs every expenditure decision,’ he argued, calling ad-hoc disbursements “a non-starter from both civil-society and economic perspectives.”
Regional Benchmarks Offer Guidance
Citing Kenya’s budget-making calendar and parliamentary oversight, Boboya said consistent adherence to fiscal law had helped Nairobi cushion shocks and attract investors, lessons he urged Juba to emulate.
Government economists respond that South Sudan’s oil-reliant revenues and post-conflict context differ sharply, yet agree that parliamentary approval of the 2023-24 budget, now delayed, would strengthen credibility with donors and markets.
Can Coordination Trump Crisis?
For now, currency dealers report a modest slowdown in the pound’s slide after the salary announcement, though staple food prices remain far above last year’s levels, underlining the scale of the challenge.
Observers say the real test will arrive once Parliament resumes debate on the budget, balancing urgent wage payments with long-term reforms aimed at diversifying production, securing trade corridors, and modernising financial governance.