Kiir promises to wipe out economic hardship

In a 27 minute speech delivered on Wednesday, November 18, to lawmakers and the cabinet in Juba, Salva Kiir Mayardit, dressed in a suit and his trademark hat, began by joking that 21 years of war with Sudan that ended in 2005 were not as tough as moments of his leadership following independence.

In a confident speech Kiir pledged that the government would act to ease the extreme hardship affecting the country in which more than a third of the population face “severe food shortages”, according to the United Nations.

“My government is taking steps to secure the supply of essential food commodities to the market on affordable prices to dampen the current high prices,” Kiir said. “In regards to the high food prices and fuel shortages, my government has taken serious measures; for food, the government has secured funds and contracted credible banks to import food items and for fuel we have signed a contract with an international company to close the gap of fuel shortage in the country,” he said.

Sharp rises in the price of food commodities and fuel have hit South Sudanese citizens across the country over the last seven months, as the South Sudanese Pound has tumbled in value against the US dollar. This sparked spiralling costs for the country which depends on imports, especially due to fighting underway in many parts of the country for almost two years, killing tens of thousands of people, displacing an estimated two million and disrupting local agriculture.

Kiir admitted that there was a lack of basic commodities to buy at affordable prices. He blamed the 2012 oil production shutdown after a row with Sudan as well as the fighting – triggered by a power struggle within the SPLM party – that broke out in December 2013.

“In order to reduce our dependence on oil revenue and our need for hard currency to import basic commodities such as food and fuel, we need to invest significantly in our economic infrastructure particularly our road networks and increase our productive capacity,” Kiir said, adding that it was necessary to reduce the size of our public sector in “non-critical areas”.

Following the signing of the peace agreement in August, Kiir pointed to plans for the Ministry of Petroleum and Mining to increase the current oil production and resume production in oil fields in Unity State, ending a 21-month pause due to fighting.

Kiir said he has also instructed the South Sudanese Minister of Finance David Deng Athorbei and the Governor of the Central Bank, Kornelio Koryom to realign the current official exchange rate with that of the black market. Recently a shortage of dollars has sent the black market rate for dollars soaring well above the official rate, making life harder for most South Sudanese.

“I wonder when I see somebody with no good dress and who possesses lots of dollars, where do they get these dollars from? This is something that all of us should go and find out because these are the people slaughtering this country,” Kiir said.

Kiir was also quick to blame the nongovernmental organisations for the black market. He said many of the NGOs do not bank their funds within the country even though they work there. In order to control them, Kiir has called on the lawmakers to ratify the NGO bill, which tightens working conditions for foreign organisations.

The President also said the parliament is expected to pass a National Revenue Authority bill, which he said would provide efficient and effective improvement of collection of non-oil revenues across the country.

Under the mediation of regional bloc, IGAD-Plus, Kiir and Machar signed a peace agreement in August to end the fighting but both leaders have since accused each other of stalling its implementation.

Kiir reiterated his commitment to adhere to the peace agreement in spirit and letter, saying he has so far directed the Ministry of Finance to work out a budget that will sponsor the implementation. He challenged all levels of government to cooperate in implementing the agreement.

“I appeal to all of you – levels of all government institutions – to welcome your brothers, your sisters, your sons and your daughters as they come back home to South Sudan. Welcome them with open hearts, reconcile, forgive each other, forget the past, open new pages, create trust, and build confidence among yourselves and live in peace and harmony,” Kiir said. “I would like you, my people, to note that we have more things that unite us than divide us.”