![Man (hands seen) holds sum of South Sudanese Pound in the black market in Juba [Photo by ELRHA]](https://i0.wp.com/www.sudanspost.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/South-Sudan-Cash-Transfer.jpg?resize=1024%2C597&quality=89&ssl=1)
While the central bank rate for the 1 US dollar jumps to 981 South Sudanese Pound this morning, traders in the parallel markets in Custom and Juba markets say it was being sold at 1100-1200 SSP, its highest rate there since the country gained independence in 2011.
“This morning, it is 981.09 South Sudanese Pound in the central bank. Here, you sell it between 1100 and 1200 South Sudanese pound, and we expect it to reach 2000 by the end of this year and this would be a very disastrous mater for the citizens,” one trader told Sudans Post today.
One citizen who spoke to Sudans Post said that one of the reasons that is preventing refugees from returning to the country beside insecurity is the economic state of the country and stressed needs for the government to do something.
“As I speak to you, I know many South Sudanese who are in Khartoum. They don’t have a plan to return to South Sudan because of the insecurity and the economic situation which we are facing now. They have chosen to die there in Sudan than to come home,” he said.
“So, the government needs to do something so that our people return home and participate in the development of the country. The government needs to be serious in implementing policies that guarantee economic growth,” he added.
South Sudan’s central bank last month said that there are a number of factors that have contributed to the decline of the local currency. It mentioned the country’s import dependency syndrome, the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the ongoing war in Sudan.
A finance ministry official told Sudans Post this morning on condition anonymity that the central bank has also been printing too much money to finance government spending.
This, the official said, has also contributed to the depreciation of the local currency.
