South Sudan protesters say country collapsed under President Kiir
May 8, 2017 (JUBA) – South Sudanese students Monday took to the streets to protest against the rise in the cost of living. The protesters who were joined by residents in the capital, Juba chanted slogans against President Salva Kiir and carried banners accusing him of collapsing the country.
The protesters said the government was mismanaging the economy as inflation was running at alarming rate. They called for the restoration of subsidies to basic food commodities to dilute the negative impact of the increasing inflation on the population
The national currency, the South Sudanese Pound which was one of the strongest currencies in the region prior to the war in 2013 has depreciated against the US dollar sharply in recent months.
The slump in the currency has led to the price increase of consumer goods, like sugar and fuel. Taxes have also gone up, along with utilities by more than 50%.
Venturing out into the streets of Juba on Monday morning, the protesters chanted and sang combative songs used for unwanted leaders for about an hour creating traffic jams around Juba University. One of the hand-written placards read: “The nation has collapsed under your leadership,” a direct reference to President Kiir.
“A protester warned the resumption of the march if no immediate attention was taken. People are suffering, they have tolerated a lot since 2013. They want peace to come but it seems the government is comfortable with the war that is why the prices are rising. The presidency of Salva Kiir is hanging by a thread and I am afraid he will continue with the do nothing policy,” he said.
This comes after President Kiir had a heated exchange with the Information Minister, Michael Makuei Lueth over the use of state assets in the communal fight in favour of a section of ethnic Dinka youth who invaded a neighbouring ethnic Murle.
It has been alleged that the objective of the march was to recover the stolen cows and the children abducted by members of ethnic Murle.
It is still unclear as to how the cows were stolen or how many children were abducted and in which months or year the incident occurred.
(ST)