South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir on Monday directed the Ministry of Finance and Planning to conduct a national economic conference to address the economic crisis.
President Kiir said this during the inauguration of the Transitional National Legislative Assembly in Juba on Monday.
“I am today directing the Ministry of Finance and Planning to organize South Sudan National Economic Conference that will complement the ongoing public finance management reform,” Kiir said.
He pointed out that the conference will bring together various government institutions and their partners in an attempt to address the challenges beholding the country’s economy back.
“This economic conference should bring together all the sectors of our economy and stakeholders, including our development partners. The objective of this conference will be to address the fundamental challenges that are holding our economy back,” he said.
Kiir said the recommendations of the conference will help the government to find a solution to the economic crisis the country is facing.
He attributed the poor economic growth to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, lower oil production, and flooding.
More than a decade after independence, South Sudan remains impacted by fragility, economic stagnation, and instability. Poverty is ubiquitous, exacerbated by conflict, displacement, and external shocks.
The country depends on oil revenues to finance 95 percent of its fiscal budget.
Reacting to Kiir’s speech, Juol Nhomngek Daniel, a lawmaker representing SPLM-IO in the national parliament, welcomed the call to hold a national economic conference to address economic hardships.
”That speech of the President, according to me, is good. The only thing needed is the implementation. We have seen recently about the exchange rate of the US dollar against the pound going up, and prices are going up,” Juol said.
Edmund Yakani, Executive Director of the Community for Empowerment Organization (CEPO), said the economic conference called for by the president is timely.
“This conference is timely, and it is very important because the economic situation we have in this country right now is not that the country does not have economic strength of purchasing power,” Yakani said.