Goch Makuac, Chairperson of the Economic and Finance Committee in the National Legislative Assembly, said there must be more dollars made available to the citizens of South Sudan.
“After we had obtained our independence, we did not sit down to develop our local revenue, that’s why the issue of hard currency is becoming a problem now,” he told Radio Tamazuj.
“We receive treatment in dollar, and fuel in dollar. We need food in dollar and travel in dollar. So over 12 million South Sudanese people need dollar,” he said.
Makuac blamed the government for depending on oil as the only source of income for South Sudan.
“When the parliament passed this year’s budget, the price of a barrel of oil was 100 dollar, but it has now dropped to 47 dollars. This drop caused the economic crisis in South Sudan,” he explained.
The South Sudanese pound has dropped to its lowest level against the US dollar at the market, causing high prices of commodities at markets, with scarcity of some consumer goods.
Citizens are calling on the government to intervene before the economic situation deteriorates further.