Why black market and presidential decrees are popular terminologies in South Sudan
6 min readBy Yach Atiop Yach, Juba, South Sudan
May 18, 2016 (SSB) — If you carry out a surveys or opinion polls today or ask any South Sudanese irrespective of his/her education level about the two almost synonymous terminologies of “Black Market” and “Presidential Decrees”. They will not disappoint you because each knows these terms very much than you have thought like ladies knowing how to care for their pedicures despite the current economic hit in Juba and South Sudan in general. I too became aficionado of the two great terminologies as of recent time due to the necessities attached to them.
For black market, the lime light of any robust economy is, if financial systems and policies put in place are correctly adhered and treasured by those who are entrusted to superintends them and keep an eye to those who wish to manipulate them with impunity at expense of a country. These policies can be jointly monitored by Finance ministry and Central Bank or singly monitored by the Central Bank as it is constitutionally mandated to enforce them without lapses or loopholes though the can be avoided. But this is the case in South Sudan were absence of them have given rise to the so call “Black Market” which became a new phenomenon and somehow synonymous to presidential decree to an average South Sudanese either literate or not.
But this black market syndrome has numerous advantages and disadvantage. In my personal view, the disadvantages overweighed the advantages. It may sound good and much benefiting to those who are in control of the black market, but the end result is who is benefiting from this practices. Many economist and analysts have written and argued on the black market sensation. But my take on the back market is that, it’s not benefiting our economy as of the past, current and in future if let to prevail under the current watch. The reasons that majority of the actors who have hands to these dollars are depleting the national treasury for their personal gains.
The actors in the black market are super rich and powerful syndicates that enable them to get the green paper call the dollar for such practice where as in real case, the dollars can only be given for the sole purpose of purchasing items which are not produced in the country such as heavy machineries and equipment, but the reserve is being depleted for black market purposes. This money is exchanged by foreigners whose intention is to repatriate the money they earned from their business in South Sudan back to their home countries and average South Sudanese who need dollars cannot afford to buy these dollars as their availability is pre-booked by the super-rich as they get them from the powerful syndicates who have access to officials who control account of the reserves at the Central Bank. What is the effect of this, the obvious answer is that reserve level is dwindling and no more inflows of reserves as our taps from the few oil wells are not flowing as before.
The other groups of actors are what I will call them “tattered clothed boys” in which President Salva Kiir wondered during one of his surprised encounter with them on how they managed to carry lots of dollars yet they don’t wear good or nice clothes. The idea behind them thriving in the black market is to accumulate much South Sudanese Pounds (SSP) as they could and keep them in bags or hide them undergrounds their Rukubas (shelters) and they can’t think of turning this huge sum of pounds these hundred boys combine can do anything for the economy may be going back home and buys cows for their normal prestige. The fortunes they derives is getting the dollars and sell them on spot to the willing buyers who can in return gives them at higher price.
Having learnt that the black market is so popular that it has surrogates some of the most commonly normal road side political topics in South Sudan because, you can only get dollars you want in the black market as the only available place should you have enough pounds than the recommend commercials banks. Black market was mainly known for trading currencies only, but in Juba or other towns in South Sudan, we have seen other commodities such as petrol being sold as well by young girls, boys and women on the streets of Juba at common spots such as Konyokonyo toward Juba Bridge, Custom and etc. avenues.
With these practices being known by the illiterates, one wonder if our populaces are still not erudite of what have all transpired in the country since independence. If our people are taught through adversities and agonies, I am sure they will know things which are not derived by privations.
With regard to “presidential decrees”, I never knew Sudan’s Omar El Bashir was ruling the country using those powers, not until the time Dr. John Garang became South Sudan’s first vice president and I begins to follow him because I was now interested in the affairs of the country that had sent me to be a refugee to a foreign land. In knowing what the decree was, I vividly remembered the most common clip of Dr. John Garang when he appointed our current President Salva Kiir through what he called Sudan’s famous presidential decree No.1 in Rumbek a week after assuming the presidency in Southern Sudan.
Since my knowledge of degree being supreme to certificate, I assumed that decrees were supreme also to “military orders” which they have been using to govern themselves during the 21 years of liberation struggles. Over years, the presidential decree became crystal clear to everyone as any appointment and firing is done by presidential decree and even State governors have their own gubernatorial decrees as well, I should not be tempted to believes that even paramount chiefs will have their “Chieftaincy decrees” for the decrees are now decentralize at all levels or it will be a red line for trespassing the president’s lonely stick call the decree.
For many people in Juba who live in the houses of politicians or potential politicians, and elsewhere would daily adhesive to South Sudan Television (SSTV) 8 PM English Bulletins for any decree (s) and if there is none in that particular bulletin. SSTV news will not be that exciting because they lack that sweet stuff call presidential decree.
It is true that presidential decree are most wanted news on South Sudan Television than any other stories and this has made citizens much aware of the term in the electronic media as well as knowing the black market as commodities traded in their supposed avenues have turned to the street and became the daily public discussion.
Yach Atiop Yach is an Atlas Corps Alumni (USA) – Atlas Corps is an International Network of Nonprofit Leaders and Organizations, He holds Bachelor Degree of Business Administration (Accounting) from Kampala International University (KIU) – Uganda. You can reach him through his email, atiopy@gmail.com
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