In a move towards enhancing South Sudan’s financial landscape and aligning it with regional standards, the new central bank governor has vowed to modernize the country’s banking system.

Speaking at a welcoming ceremony held at the bank’s premises in Juba on Wednesday, Dr. James Alic Garang affirmed his commitment to transforming the Central Bank into a modern institution.

“One is that as management, we will always collaborate in the interest of advancing the mandate of this institution, and the second point that I would like to put across is that as we look forward, a pledge along with my team that we are going to emphasize the arrangement of running a modern Central Bank,” he said.

Dr. Garang also emphasized the importance of transparency, stating, “The modern central bank is underlined by a number of key pillars, and one of those has already been mentioned – the problem of increased transparency toward whatever we do. As a bank, it should be one of our hallmarks, along with the need to have effective communication. Something I believe that the bank has already done, but under this leadership, we will pick it up.”

Furthermore, he added, “And the last point that I add, which is not our own here at the bank but also cuts across the board, is the element of seeking greater autonomy.”

Samuel Yanga Mikaya, the First Deputy Governor of the Central Bank, pledged full support for Governor Garang in addressing the bank’s challenges.

“I know that the new Central Bank governor cannot do anything without all of us, and therefore, we are going to pledge our support to give him all our support for the success of this institution. We will move forward; challenges are there, and if there are no challenges, there will be no need for us, but we will get used to them,” he said.

President Salva Kiir’s decision to replace the former Bank Governor Johnny Ohisa Damian with Dr. James Alic Garang was announced on October 2, 2023, in a presidential decree aired on state-run South Sudan Broadcasting Corporation (SSBC).

Additionally, two deputy governors, Addis Ababa Othow and John Maciek Acuoth, were also removed from their positions and replaced by Samuel Yanga Mikaya as the First Deputy Governor and Nyiel Gordon Kuol as the Second Deputy, respectively.

The president gave no reason for the sacking of the changes, but there has been high inflation and depreciation of the South Sudanese Pound (SSP) against the dollar.