Lawmaker questions award bestowed upon central bank chief

JUBA – A South Sudanese lawmaker at the Transitional National Legislative Assembly has criticized a contentious award recently bestowed upon the governor of the country’s central bank James Alic Garang amidst soaring inflation.

Anei Deng Akok, an MP representing Awest East County on the SPLM-IO ticket, questioned the criteria and genuine reasons for the awarded accolades amid the ailing economy and fluctuating exchange rate.

“Yesterday, I wanted to take an opportunity through the minister of finance to ask why, after the exchange rate reached SSP 500,000 and citizens are suffering, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) awarded the governor of the Central Bank,” he said yesterday.

“Why is that award given when the dollar rate has hit SSP 500,000 and the international community celebrates that the central governor is the best after economic turmoil?” he quizzed.

The legislator cited that during the tenures of consecutive governors, the exchange rates had not hit SSP 200,000, and none of the former governors of the Bank of South Sudan had bagged such a prestigious award.

“This shows that there is no sovereignty, and if we truly have sovereignty, then we are supposed to summon the minister of finance and the governor of the central bank to answer questions why such an award was given when people are suffering,” Akok noted.

“Are we truly leaders? If we were leaders, the exchange rate would not have reached SSP 500,000,” he lamented.

However, another MP disputed the point of information raised by Akok, citing that these were just institutional procedures.

“Why do we complain about things that are being done within an institutional capacity? I don’t think this is correct,” the MP said.

In response, the second deputy speaker of the parliament, Parmena Awerial Aluong, said, “The last one is not an information because the issue is just a normal procedure which are carried out by the institution.”

“So, we cannot interfere in such arrangements which are made by the central bank and ministry of finance. The IMF is the one running the economic realm in the world,” he added.

Deputy Speaker Awerial said that the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank have their own standards, and the national parliament should not interfere with their procedures and policies.

The award was accorded to the governor in April by a US-based organization called African Leadership Organization in recognition of his “outstanding achievements and contributions to the socio-economic development of South Sudan and Africa.”

The African Leadership Organization describes itself as a “UK-based company promoting African opportunities across the globe via an ecosystem of high-quality Afro-positive content creation and distribution.”