My Economy Fix: Pay them in their OWN national currency!
4 min readBy Deng Lueth Yuang, Canada
May 28, 2015 (SSB) — It is a common belief that South Sudan is an import-driven economy. It gets most of its industrial imports from or through Uganda, Kenya, or North Sudan
This prompts me to ask this Neanderthal question: What monetary currency does South Sudanese neighbors want to pay for their goods and services? Why do they keep on demanding foreign dollars that none of us, Southerners, cultivate? Well, it is their due right, but not assigned to them.
First point: South Sudan is not YET an East African state! So at the moment, it does not enjoy any Econo-political rights from East African federations. That is why they charge me $50 when I set my feet in those countries. I remember how Tanzania chased me away from working there!
But, anyway;
WHAT do Southerners owe to Eastern Africans – Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Somalia, Eritrea,… the rest are negligible minions!
Maybe these variable cost obligations: rental, schooling, treatment, visitations/tourists, plus other minor obligations!
But before I divulge into how South Sudan leadership can lessen this precarious situation, let me ask your minds in order to understand what is in play here:
– Does South Sudan manufacture dollars? Nay. It is Uncle Sam’s land, America!
– Does any of our neighbors owe us any dollars? Nay. They are Judas Iscariots of our times! We are just mere trade partners whom they help because they need us to help them build their economies [refer to my article ….]
So what our Govt ought to do…
For whatever they demand from us, just pay them in kind —currency-in-currency! Kshs for kshs! Ugshs for Ughs! Etc.
This is what I call “currency forward arrangement” – ensuring the Bank of south Sudan has enough foreign reserves (I mean dollars plus other international currencies) to transact or barter trade the national currencies of these ‘amphibians’ countries to enable Junubiin still enjoy their products and services.
If you might recall, the trade volumes according to World Bank between South Sudan and ..,
Kenya – is significant, but still extrapolating and expatriating profits back to their home countries;
Uganda – is very significant, but very much extrapolating and expatriating profits back to their home countries;
Ethiopia – Ethiopians are in South Sudan to sell ‘Enjera’ and their girls so as to suck American dollars out of economy!
Eritrea – Eritreans are in South Sudan to escape militarism or dictatorship other than crossing waters of death to Europe, so as to kill our infant economy!
Somalia – Somalis are in South Sudan to make quick ‘bucks’ and kill our economy, other than the Al shabab based economy – piracy and Sharia-compliancy business ventures!
…the rest are neglible
Forthwith, the Bank of South Sudan, or what I call ‘The Nilo-Bank’ has the right to conduct a forward currency arrangement with those Eastern African countries whose interests and our interests merge. E.g. Kenya and Uganda are our humanitarian partners in the region for our displaced and hapless lots, and business partners to partner with so as to transact what our infant economy needs. Ethiopia too is home to thousands of our opposition peoples, but can’t do business as usual with Southerners!
Hence, the best way to help all these neighbourly countries is to pay them in kind. Pay our civil servants in ‘their own’ national currency that they like, but NOT dollars! Then they are free to go with these basket loads of currencies and pay their familial residential obligations in those countries.
That is Resue Model No. 1.
Deng Lueth Yuang holds BA and MA in Economics.
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