AWEIL — Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) in South Sudan has trained 20 state government officials on financial management in Aweil West County of Northern Bahr el Ghazal State, in a programme aimed at strengthening local financial skills as part of broader efforts to improve economic governance and community-level resilience.
The two-day training, which concluded on Friday, focused on equipping government officials and community representatives with practical knowledge on managing finances, saving resources, and organising collective economic activities — foundational elements for inclusive financial systems and bottom-up digital public infrastructure.
According to participants, the training brought together a wide cross-section of society, including public officials, women, youth, traders, and institutional leaders, reflecting an approach that links financial literacy with inclusive economic participation.
“The training was so super, as it drew people representing all walks of life, the women, youth, traders, and directors of all institutions in the county, among others, and it highlighted the basic steps to save money or keep finance,” Chol said.
Chol said participants were introduced to methods of collective saving and group-based financial organisation, including how to form interest groups or savings associations that can mobilise funds and generate income through structured lending and repayment mechanisms.
Chol said the training emphasised the importance of unity and coordination in resource management, particularly for communities facing limited access to formal banking and digital financial services.
“As government officials we have got information on the importance of making contributions so that we can form associations, such as a farm. When it is a farming season, we use that money and get farmland, we till it, and we get products and sell those as a group.”
He described the training as beneficial, noting that it provided practical insights into financial management skills and strategies for handling funds received either individually or collectively, especially in environments affected by economic shocks and rising living costs.
“This training will help us know how to use our brains to get ways of managing this crisis so that we can pay for children and manage the families using our little pennies.”
Chol said the programme encouraged individuals to organise themselves into groups and pool resources to establish local business associations, an approach often seen as a stepping stone toward more formalised financial systems.
He said such groups could also issue loans to members and earn interest, creating a revolving fund that supports small businesses and local economic activity.
“If you have a lot of pounds and you don’t know how to use them, then you can end up as a great spendthrift, and that is why this training is vital for us.”
He added that, given the ongoing financial challenges facing households and public servants, the training can help participants make better use of limited resources, cover essential expenses, and plan more sustainably.
Observers say initiatives such as this play a critical role in laying the human and institutional foundations for digital public infrastructure, as financial literacy, trust, and collective organisation remain prerequisites for the effective adoption of digital financial tools at the local level.
