South Sudan: Lack of Political Will Has Killed Our National Economy
By John Garang Ayii Riak, Bor, South Sudan
Friday, October 16, 2020 (PW) — Lack of political will and affirmative action toward our economy and markets are the main reasons behind our collapsed economy in South Sudan. In the whole world including African continent economy and market prices are controlled by the government and no one can decide to raise the public market prices.
In South Sudan, there is no political will from the government to determine and control the market prices by putting affirmative action against the rapid high prices of goods and commodities. In our nation, anyone having goods or commodity can decide to sell the goods at any prices and no one ask him / her why selling goods at higher prices?
Worldwide, prices are controlled by the Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Supply and this ministry is the one that determines the prices, but our leaders do not care whether the traders and businessmen are killing the country or not? One can decide to sells goods and exchange of hard currency at his or her own decided price which is not good for the economic growth and development purposes in the country.
In Sudan, Government used to determine market prices and announce it through national social media platforms such as the National radio like Omdurman Radio and Newspaper so on. All businessmen and traders must comply with the government decision and whosoever, disobeys the government order should be punished.
In addition, government used to send policemen and security personnel to inspect the market prices and whoever is found selling goods and commodity at the different price, he should be immediately arrested and must be taken to the prison and after spending 2-3 days in the prison he or she should be transferred to the court of law to justify himself or herself why increasing the goods in that amount?
After the court verdict he/ she must pay fines and serve the sentence in the prison and this is how the serious government controlled the economy.
Conclusively, I appeal to our government that businessmen and traders should not be given freedom to decide the market prices how to should sell goods. So, the government should have a political will to control the prices of goods including the price of hard currency such as dollar by rising or reducing it.
But they should not allow dealers to kill our economy instead of controlling it by defining the prices of all goods including the hard currency, which is the source of our economy collapse, and government should have a political will and must take affirmative action against the collapsing economy by punishing traders who illegally raises the prices of goods.
The author, John Garang Ayii Riak, is a concerned South Sudanese citizen who can be reached via his email: johngayii2014@gmail.com
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