South Sudan seeking public-private partnership to tackle economic crisis

February 15, 2017 (JUBA)- The South Sudanese government said it is seeking cooperation of the private sector and other stakeholders to avert the deteriorating economic

Finance minister Stephen Dhieu Dau said his ministry looks forward to working together with the private sector to develop strategies aimed at addressing the situation.

“We have been meeting with different stakeholders since my appointment, because I want them to contribute to addressing this economic situation. The government has ideas, it has policies in place but it is also important we hear what others are saying,” Dau told reporters in the capital, Juba on Wednesday.

“This is very important because addressing such a situation requires inputs from different stakeholders and this is why it is important to partner with the private sector to do what’s good for the economy and for our people”, he added.

According to Dau, the finance ministry is closely working with the country’s Central Bank governor to reduce the exchange rates of the U.S. dollar against the local currency to improve the economy and reduce inflation.

He said the two institutions will work to find a solution to swelling prices of essential commodities at the market, stressing that the two institutions will have to embark on harmonized and coordinated work.

“You know that the governor of central bank with his team and I with my team met on Thursday last week and held a very important meeting in which we have agreed to reduce the exchange rates of the US dollar, either to fix it or by injecting more hard currencies so as to increase the supply,” said Dau.

The minister said his institution would exert every effort to try to improve the situation, though it would require time and patience to address it.

“The president and the government are committed to addressing this situation and because of this commitment we would like to assure our people that yes, our economy is experiencing difficulties, but the issue will take time and patience. The situation will not be automatically resolved. It will take time and this is why it is important for our people to be tolerance”, he appealed.

Investors’ confidence has sunk since the eruption of the conflict in South Sudan in December 2013, resulting in unprecedented fiscal woes which appear to have been worsened by the decline in oil prices and drop in global oil prices.

(ST)