South Sudan pays $11 mln to Ivory Bank
By James Gatdet Dak and Isaac Vuni
April 27, 2009 (JUBA) – Ivory Bank, a pioneer banking institution in Sudan, has moved its headquarters from Khartoum to its branch in Juba, an event marked by a pledge of US$11 million in financing from the Government of Southern Sudan.
Gabriel Changson Chang, chairman of the Board of Directors of the bank, said he was satisfied with the operations of Ivory Bank, which he said is moving beyond its debts into profit-making, and he appealed to the regional government — for which he is minister of information — to fully fulfil its pledge to pay US$11 million to the bank beyond the six million already paid.
The bank, opened by southern economists in September 1994 in Khartoum to serve the interests of southern Sudanese, plans to open several additional branches across Southern Sudan, according to Chang’s remarks.
Unlike the Islamic system in northern Sudan, Ivory Bank is part of the conventional banking system. It also operates a branch in Malakal, along with the near-collapsing Nile Commercial Bank, which was established about six years ago in 2003 in areas held by the SPLM/A insurgency.
Ivory Bank’s new headquarters was inaugurated in the regional capital, Juba, on Monday by the Vice President of the Government of Southern Sudan, Dr. Riek Machar Teny.
In his inaugural remarks, the vice president said the current situation in Southern Sudan posed a challenge to the bank to deliver services to the people in the region. Although Ivory Bank has attracted many clients, its services are rudimentary due to lack of trained staff further constrained by lack of new technology.
But Machar pledged millions to assist the bank to take off with its new policy, directing the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning to immediately transfer the balance of eleven million dollars to Ivory Bank.
With the opening of the latest electronic money transfer technology by Ivory bank, people of the south should be able to reduce alleged financial missteps while moving salaries and development funds to various units or states in south Sudan.
Another boon from the bank would be reducing dependency on imported food by facilitating movement of fruits, eggs, vegetable and pineapples from Western Equatoria state, posited Machar. “For how long must we depend on imported food?” he asked.
Elijah Malok Aleng, Governor of the Bank of Southern Sudan, appreciated the repatriation of the bank headquarters to Southern Sudan, stressing that the region needed the Southern Sudan-based commercial banks to improve their services.
He further hailed Ivory Bank for its move toward profit-making after noticing that between 2007 and 2008 there were a lot of unsettled debts. He advised that at least eighty percent of borrowed amount be returned before effecting any deals with future clients.
He also announced that the manager and his deputy are being rewarded with two months’ gross pay while other staffs get one month gross pay as appreciation for their demanding service.
Earlier, General Manger Ernest Woderif Marbaga described the inauguration as “a milestone in history of banking in South Sudan.”
However, Marbaga observed that a sudden exodus of Islamic banks from the south has negatively impacted innocent people because of overstretched meagre resources and manpower.
Nevertheless, he emphasized that southerners have taken over dilapidated structures and made provisions to hire new personnel to fill the vacuum left by departing bank officials, particularly in Aweil, Bentiu, and Malakal
The general manager commented that banking is a highly professional occupation that cannot be mastered overnight, hence it requires many years of intensive training for personnel.
(ST)
junub
South Sudan pays $11 mln to Ivory Bank
I said no to Riek’s idea of $11 militions to be transfered to his Ivory Bank. Better for the devil we know then the angel we don’t know.
John Costa
South Sudan pays $11 mln to Ivory Bank
The problems with Southern Sudanese that they do not see any decision without the lens of tribalism; these will defiantly halt the development of our region. That the crux, if all started to trust easy other leadership, we would not see all these tribal conflict of interest.
AUGUSTINO DENG
South Sudan pays $11 mln to Ivory Bank
Dr Riak Machar Teny and Changson Chang, are the mess to this issue of allowing the Ivory Bank to be situated in Southern Sudan. Well, allowing Ivory Bank to entrange its banking system in Southern Sudan is not bad anyway, but they should come with their own money. Second, Western Africans sometimes can’t be most trusted and as a fact, SPLM/SPLA should not rely on this people because they are “easy going to any direction”.
What I do know is that, Dr Riak Machar Teny and Changson Chang, allow this bank in order to transacted their money which they have dwindled from Southern Sudan. And that is the main point of Dr Riak Machar Teny to allow Ivory Bank to carry it operational system in Southern Sudan.
If Dr Riak Machar Teny, is a sophisticated leader, then he should first of all himself investigated the reason why Khartoum Government expelled or discontinued Ivory Bank operation in Khartoum. I don’t ever trust whatever Dr Riak Machar Teny is doing completely. This is the first time to heard Dr Riak Machar trying to talk about a new innovation, but he fell to address the issue of the SPLA who don’t receive their salaries. SPLM/SPLA need to watch out about accepting this kind of a blatant lies being practiced by some other idiots people.