By Simon Deng

I lose grip of optimism whenever I think about our currency, the South Sudanese Pound. Our plight as an independent country is clouded by the sorry economic status, characterised by the inability to make changes and plan for the growth and development that can attract investors. The end goal of this would be to use our currency to revive the economy. The same way happens with others like Euros, Dollars, and Yen.

South Sudan is economically stuck because of our small man’s mentality.  We are being spoon-fed like birds seeking refuge when faced with difficult situations during hot and cool seasons for warming and this is done by the minister of finance and the president of the country.

We are yet to consider the power of pooling investments to bolster the economy and reinforce the strength of the local currency. With businesses streaming to various states in South Sudan, our journey to recovery will be nothing but assured.

The South Sudanese Pound is becoming less valuable in the market. For instance, as of now, SSP1, SSP5, SSP10, SSP20, SSP25, and SSP50 have no value to buy or bring something from the market. It is only from SSP100 and above that, someone can buy something tangible.

Remedial policies

We need to have a deeper soul-searching to brainstorm various approaches to reviving our economy. We invested massively in ensuring that we manufactured notes and coins to be used as legal tender. Nonetheless, with their shredded value in the market, the country cannot be confident and claim that value addition was realised since independence.

Currency devaluation shows that we don’t accept our economy or currency as crucial and capable of attracting entrepreneurs from other countries to come and invest with us. This notwithstanding, the government added another denomination to the list earlier this year. According to the Bank of South Sudan, SSP1,000 was supposed to be used to provide a crucial facelift to the struggling local currency. At the time, a US dollar was going for SSP600 in the black market.

The government then embarked on the process of auctioning the dollars to ‘strengthen the local currency. However, the fruits of a strong SSP are yet to be realised given that prices remain higher despite the currency strength being felt in the currency exchange corridors.

We can agree that economic growth is not done through gambling but strategic planning based on the forex market trend. The economic salvation that we seek from outside our boundary will not contribute or bring profits or success to the economy. It only causes destruction, exploitation, conflict, and poverty.

Solutions

What do I mean by salvation? The point is, seeking donations, funding, loans, and gifts without proper management strategies will not address our deepening economic crisis. It will only lower the value of our currency especially when the common man fails to feel the impacts of such donations.

This is because the government has wobbly confidence in the SSP and the legal tender that was agreed to be used in the market.

It is good to support our currency as a means to improve the country’s economy. African currencies and economies are becoming less relevant because they are managed through gambling other than strategic planning. Most African countries peg their currencies against Euros and Dollars; which their ordinary citizens do not need and have access to.

Our economy is comparable to a home without children that are lacking happiness. Such a home is drowning in chaos, quarrel, fight, and divorce.

We need the government to revise the current situation that is failing to add value to our economy. The economy is not only based on things we purchase such as commodities that we export and import: it is about strengthening the currency.

Our currency was so strong after the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement on January 6, 2005, when the country and the international witnessed the signing of an agreement that brought more than decades of conflict to an end.

-Simon Deng Achie Thiel is a graduate with a degree in philosophy. Views expressed in this article are solely his and do not reflect the stand of The City Review. The author can be reached via email on simondeng@gmail.com