The Basic Economic Dilemma of Scarcity in South Sudan
6 min readBy Ter Manyang Gatwech, Kampala, Uganda
June 29, 2015 (SSB) —- Scarcity is one of the most basic economic problems we face in South Sudan since 2005 up to date under the leadership of Salva Kiir. We run into scarcity because we are a society with unlimited wants, but many resources are exhausted by current regime in Juba, South Sudan. Therefore, we have to choose. We have to make trade-offs. We have to efficiently allocate resources. We have to do those things because resources are limited and cannot meet our own unlimited demands. In my country, South Sudan where some Ministers use the money with their girl’s friend. One day, I met with a lady from Kampala International University in Uganda she told me about her Minister boy friend from Current Regime in South Sudan. She said a semester she received 3500 US Dollars for her transport solitary. That is why that question comes to my mind.
How can you imagine South Sudan to have strong economy yet the Ministers are busy on young girls in the hotels. Some Government officials put their money on their beds and the Locus of their cars in any case of emergency to get a beautiful girls stand alongside the road. Economy can be improved unless we involved economists, Public Administrators in the country. Without scarcity, the science of economics would not exist. Economics is the study of production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services.
If society did not have to make choices about what to produce, distribute, and consume, the study of those actions would be relatively boring. Society would produce, distribute, and consume an infinite amount of everything to satisfy the unlimited wants and needs of humans. Everyone would get everything they wanted and it would all be free. But we all know that is not the case. The decisions and trade-offs society makes due to scarcity is what economists study. Why certain decisions made and what are the next best alternative that they had to forego?
Scarce Goods and Services
As noted above, if scarcity did not exist, all goods and services would be free. A good is considered scarce if it has a non-zero cost to consume. In other words, it costs something. Almost every good we as individuals or as society consume costs something and is scarce. By consuming one good, another good is foregone. Therefore, scarcity forces decisions and trade-offs to be made.
Why are some scarce goods more expensive than other scarce goods? The cost of a good is a signal of its scarcity. One good may be more scare than another, either because of limited resources or higher want (demand) for that good.
Let’s take two scarce goods – shark meat and chicken. Both have a non-zero cost/price, but we would all agree shark meat is much more expensive to buy than chicken. Why is that? The resources to produce shark meat are largely limited by the labor and capital it takes to catch a shark, while the labor and capital required to produce chicken is less limiting. Even though the resources to produce both are limited, there is much more labor and capital available to produce chicken than shark. Not to mention the quantity of sharks is also much more limited than that of chickens.
If the unlimited wants and needs of a particular good can be met by resources, then it has not considered scarce. This would require the resources to be unlimited as well for it to meet unlimited demand. What would be an example of a non-scarce good? Think about what you do every day. Can you think of something you consume or use that is free? Something that you have infinite access to and you would never expect to run out? Air. Air is a good that everyone has unlimited access to, and no one has to pay to consume it!
The question remind me about the fundamental questions in economics
- What to produce and how much?
Every society has to make a choice between alternative goods and service that must be produced. Choice made must be one that which yields maximum output.
- How to produce?
After deciding what to produce each society must decide resources to be combined to produce these goods. Economics with abundant labour will use labour intensive methods and those with abundant capital will use capital intensive techniques of production.
- When to produce?
Each society has to decide between having production and delaying production so as to have more in future.
- Where to produce?
This deals which location of production unit. This will depend upon transport to the market, presence of raw materials, market for the commodity, etc
- For whom to produce?
These are decisions concerning consumption of goods and services produced. This depends on the communities’ ability to choose their own basket of goods.
The relationship between President Yoweri Musevni and President Salva Kiir to me ;it is useless. Because President Salva Kiir does not think genuinely for his country, South Sudan. South Sudan cannot produce anything since 2005 up to date due to poor economy in the country. South Sudan does not have Economists who can measure the Gross Domestic Product. (GDP) Kiir’s Government is using what we called Planned Economy. This is an economic system whereby economic activities are directed by the state.
NO POLICY IN PLACE
South Sudan’s economic sector, analysts say, has never had a sound policy since the country seceded from neighboring Sudan in 2011.
According to Wilson Deng Jackson, a financial market analyst said the government is driving the economy in the wrong direction evidenced by the continued depreciation of the SSP against the dollar.
“Going by what is happening in the last two to three years, one tends to wonder whether those managing the economy really do have that ability because clearly, the economy is going in the wrong direction,” said Deng.
“Whichever way you look at it, one would not be wrong to say that they policy makers in the government and in the private sector are driving the economy in the wrong direction,” added the analyst.
He cited lack of policy consistency and predictability as causes of these economic woes and poor performance of the local currency.
“This volatility is indicative of challenges that need to be addressed because we don’t have a definite pattern of supply and demand,” Deng told Sudan Tribune.
“If we had consistency in terms of policy, we would not have all these challenges we are seeing. I don’t think the people who are managing the economy are anticipating the demands that come on to the market,” he said.
He said government should review its approach to economic matters.
“We are put at a crossroads because looking at that 70% of depreciation it is too high. The solution is to rethink and look at that fiscal policy and replace it with one that is friendlier,” said Deng.
“An enabling environment has to be created by putting a lot of efforts to bring peace as a first priority now,” he added.
The truth must be told…………………………..
By Ter Manyang Gatwech, chairman of Gawaar Community in Kampala,Uganda and also the former president of Cavendish University Uganda Students Association of Public Administration and Management(CUUSAPAM). Email me;termanyang24@gmial.com or ssdnssdn733@yahoo.com
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