Northern Bahr el Ghazal governor to set fixed commodity prices

The skyrocketing prices of commodities in Northern Bahr-el-Ghazal State have prompted area leadership to order the State Chamber of Commerce to initiate an investigation and set standard commodity prices. 

During the market survey on Tuesday, Governor Tong Akeen Ngor said prices of sugar and wheat flour had gone high in the market.

He summoned the State Chamber of Commerce to explain the rise in the prices since the exchange rate remained stable. 

The statement released by the office of the governor noted that during the assessment, Governor Tong learned that the prices of sugar and wheat flour shot up.

“Governor Tong Akeen Ngor urged the Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce for NBGS Mr Deng Makol to find out exactly why the prices of sugar and wheat flour are increasing. 

“He directed the chairman to organise the prices in the market such that the citizens may not suffer at the hands of those traders who wish to earn unfavourable profits,” the statement read in part.

 Measures in place

Governor Tong urged traders in the state to avoid unnecessary increments of prices and consider the economic situation of consumers.

Last month, the Central Equatoria State launched a project to lower prices to food commodities to affordable levels. 

The food items included brown sugar, maize flour, cooking oil, beans and Azam. The items were launched under the theme: “Delivering Quality, and Accessible Product at Affordable Price.”

Speaking at the launch, the Governor of Central Equatoria State Emmanuel Adil urged the citizens to join hands with the state government to ensure that the prices of commodities were lowered.

“This is a revival of Central Equatoria State, while we also know that this state is an agricultural producing state, the country’s economy was affected by the war and also by the outbreak of COVID-19 but we still managed to come out with this initiative to subsidise the market. Meanwhile, we call upon our citizens to cooperate with us,” said Governor Adil.

Latest Inflation reports.

In July 2021, World Bank reported that with the decline in oil and non-oil sectors, and the COVID-19 pandemic, South Sudan’s economy would decline by -4.1 per cent.

Among the contributing factors were the declining exports and private consumption, the effects of the pandemic, floods, locust invasion and prevalence of conflict.

“The current economic crisis has provided a great opportunity to reflect on how the country can bounce back better by building on key milestones already achieved as part of the peace process. Diversifying the economy will enable South Sudan to build back an economy that is resilient to shocks and ensure sustained and inclusive growth,” said the World Bank Country Manager for South Sudan Husam Abudagga. 

“Investing more in agriculture, for instance, will help to unleash the immense potential of the sector and can be a big step for South Sudan’s path to diversification, while reducing food insecurity.”

The population is said to be vulnerable to the consequences of the pandemic aggravating implications of economic growth and development.

The World Bank report stated that South Sudan food security had been adversely affected too by war since 2013 which has rendered the country vulnerable to the economic downturn.

The report indicated that there would be possible economic recovery as a result of the global economy rebounding to support higher oil prices, credible reform process and resilience to negative climatic factors and conflict.

The report recommended that there was a need to embark on agricultural investments and other reforms which could revive the economy.