Citizens in South Sudan’s capital Juba are complaining about the sudden rise in costs for clothes and other goods as Christmas approaches.
Radio Tamazuj spoke to several people in Juba’s main markets on Thursday who complained that prices for special children’s clothes rose from 150 South Sudanese pounds to 225 pounds, along with the price of flour and sweets.
They said this makes it difficult to purchase gifts for their children for Christmas celebrations. Many families had already budgeted their Christmas expenses before the rise in prices.
Traders attributed the rise in prices to the floating of the foreign exchange rate of the South Sudanese Pound.
A trader named Majdi Abbas said the exchange rate rose from 18 SSP to the dollar to 29, creating chaos in the market.
He claimed that traders already suffer from high taxes and license fees by the government and the latest price increases will have a negative impact on his customers.
“I think this prices increase is unimaginable. Every decision should be thoroughly studied by the government before effecting it,” he said. “The central bank decision was a unilateral one without consultation from the national parliament.”
File photo: Konyo Konyo market