After a meeting held last Friday, the cabinet of the South Sudanese transitional government of national unity declared that the young nation will not be celebrating its 5th independence anniversary due to prevailing political and economic crisis. Since the split from Sudan, to become an independent country in 2011, South Sudan has witnessed years of economic hardship and political unrest; the former, in part, a relative consequence of the latter.
South Sudan’s economic crisis was triggered by the decision to stop oil production four years ago, following a dispute with Sudan over fees charged to use its pipelines. But since oil accounts for a bulk of the country’s revenue, the cessation resulted in a severe dearth of foreign currency and consequently, a drastic decline in the value of the local currency against the dollar. It also led to inflation and increased fuel prices.
To aggravate issues, a civil war triggered by an internal power tussle in late 2013 led to the death, displacement and starvation of millions, including the disruption of foreign and local trade, an ever-rising cost of living and depleted reserves. This has forced the country to depend on loans and foreign aid very early on in its democracy.
Greedy and power drunk South Sudanese politicians do not help matters by pocketing huge allowances, and accruing debts by living luxurious lifestyles amidst abject poverty, hunger, and ongoing strike actions by aggrieved public servants whose salaries have not been paid for months. It’s no surprise that the east African country is the most fragile state in Africa, second most dangerous nation after Syria and the fifth most corrupt in the world.
Following the meeting last Friday, the government also declared that it will no longer promote the luxurious lifestyle of public officials as they will no longer receive allowances or fancy cars. Although the government had, in the past, introduced certain austerity measures, including cutting down on investments and expenditures as well as “limiting borrowing to only fund activities that will stimulate economic growth…” this marks the first time it will take stringent measures towards addressing the excesses of its leaders. Hopefully, this bold decision by the government saves them some money to cater to economic expenditure like paying their civil servants for a start.
