South Sudan’s inflation drops to 48%
By Julius N. Uma
February 13, 2012 (JUBA) – South Sudan’s inflation, which in December of last year stood at a whopping 65.6% dropped to 47.8% in January, the country’s national bureau of statistics said in its latest report.
The report, unveiled earlier this month, also cites a decline in annual inflation for Juba, the South Sudanese capital, when compared to the rest of the country, from August 2011 to January this year.
Last month, for instance, annual inflation in Juba reportedly stood at a mere 42.9% compared to the national average of 47.8%.
In an interview with Sudan Tribune on Monday, David Chan Thiang, the director of economic statistics at the national bureau attributed the decrease in inflation to the government’s recent move to remove illegal check points erected across the country as well as the notable improvements in road networks.
“Let’s consider the infrastructure, for instance. At least 90% of the Juba-Nimule road, which links South Sudan to the rest of the East African nations, has been tarmacked making transportation of goods very easy,” Thiang said.
Meanwhile, the South Sudan’s Consumer Price Index (CPI), the report stipulates, increased by 0.1% from December 2011 to January 2012. This jump, it says, was mainly driven by higher prices of health, furnishing and household equipments.
The report, however, reveals that while the CPI in Juba increased by 2.7% from December last year to January this year, that of Wau (Western Bahr el Ghazal) and Malakal (Upper Nile) decreased by 5.1% and 5.2% respectively.
“The increase in the CPI was 0.1% from December 2011 to January 2012. Food and non-alcoholic beverages decreased in price by 0.3% from December 2011 to January 2012. Health increased by 22.8% and Furnishing & Household equipment increased in price by 14.1% from December 2011 to January 2012,” it says.
In the past year, the report added, prices of food & non-alcoholic beverages reportedly increased by 40.6%, while those of alcoholic beverages and tobacco as well as furnishing and household equipment are said to have surged by 205.1% and 111.0% respectively between January 2011 and January 2012.
The price of transportation, it says, also decreased by 9.4% from January 2011 to January 2012.
Formerly known as Southern Sudan Centre for Census, Statistics and Evaluation (SSCCSE), the statistical body is the official statistical agency of the Southern government, mandated to collect, analyse and disseminate all official economic, social and demographic statistics.
(ST)