Economy News

Bank governor dismisses reports of economy collapse

The Governor of the Central Bank of South Sudan (CBSS) Kornelio Koriom has dismissed reports that the economy of South Sudan is on the verge of collapse.

The report purportedly from the World Bank said the economy is quiclly headed towards an "economic cliff" in light of its decision to shut down oil production.

"At the moment there is no danger. The economy of South Sudan is one of the best in the region because it is being backed up by resources which are not yet tapped," he said.

"We can even draw loans against those resources. So there is never a good reason to think that it is going to collapse."

The World Bank on Tuesday released a statement dismissing the report as a misrepresentation of facts. The Bank further said it would continue in solidarity with the people of Sudan and South Sudan during their economic difficulties.

Speaking to Radio Miraya on Wednesday, Koriom said the government has already secured credit from a country for the much-needed resources.

He says the current shortages and scarcity of commodities in the country will be no more in the next one week.

"At the moment, we are discussing how we can strategically plan a credit line which we have secured from one of our friendly countries in order to make available items like fuel, food, drugs and even building materials".

Without disclosing the amount or source of the loan, the governor said the credit would serve the economy for at least six months.

"It is a sum that is going to bail us out for the coming six months and within five days to one week, the situation is going to change very greatly. You can quote me on that," he confidently said.

The scarcity of food items and petrol is mainly as a result of shortages of foreign exchange following the shutdown of oil production in January this year.

Listen to Koriom