South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir on Friday sacked his Finance and Economic Planning minister, in an unexpected change that followed an economic crisis.
In a presidential decree read on state-run television, Kiir sacked Dr. Bak Barnaba Chol Bak, who was just appointed in August last year.
The South Sudanese leader replaced Dr. Bak, an economist by profession, with Engineer Awow Daniel Chuang, who had served for years in the Ministry of Petroleum. Prior to his appointment, Chuang was serving as the technical advisor to the Petroleum ministry.
President Kiir did not give any explanation for the sacking of the minister of finance – apart from citing his constitutional powers to appoint and remove public servants.
However, in recent months, the South Sudanese pound has been depreciating sharply and there was little that economic advisors could do to arrest its fall.
As of Friday, 1 USD was equivalent to 1,612 SSP in the central bank. This exchange rate is a stark indicator of the economic challenges faced by citizens in South Sudan, where earning a living wage has become increasingly difficult.
Despite huge oil reserves, South Sudan continues to reel under poverty even after gaining independence more than 12 years ago.