Browsing: South Sudan economy

In an unprecedented and rather unexpected move, in October 2020 US President Donald Trump went ahead and erased Sudan out of the US’ proverbial blacklist of countries that harbour terrorists or support terror groups. 

President Trump, who is not exactly known for his keen favour for Africa, took to Twitter to announce his decision to remove Sudan from the list of State Sponsors of Terrorism (SST). 

He said Sudan had proved itself a willing participant to change and fight against terrorism. He twitted that Sudan’s transitional government has agreed to pay a US$335 million package to US victims of attacks and their relatives.  

Also Read: Will South Sudan’s currency devaluation prove strategic or worthless?

The reparations package is to compensate victims and families impacted by a series of terrorist attacks, including the bombing of US embassies in Tanzania and Kenya in 1998, and an attack

Annotation 2020 07 02 213346

The Republic of South Sudan’s path to economic recovery has not been an easy one, however, the country’s 2017 decision to join the African Trade Insurance Agency (ATI) has been a positive step in the right direction.

ATI, a multilateral provider of investment and trade credit insurance, offers insurance against political and commercial risks, by attracting foreign direct investments into the region. 

In just a few short years, ATI’s support for the country is valued at over US$500 million.

Albert Rweyemamu, a Senior Underwriter at ATI, shed some light on the organisation’s work with South Sudan, which has largely focused on the oil/ gas and power generation sectors.

Since South Sudan became an ATI member country in 2017, how has your approach to the country changed? 

AR: Generally, ATI supports limited projects in non-member states as we cannot confer our Preferred Creditor Status (PCS), which offers protection against political

South Sudan's new peace sits well with projected growth

South Sudan’s handshake’ has been welcomed by economists who say the deal resonates with the demands of the economy, which according to the World Bank and IMF, expects it to be one of the fastest-growing in the continent.

Last week, a new government of national unity was unveiled with Dr. Riek Machar joining the government as a vice president ending six years of civil war that has killed about 400,000 people and displaced millions. The war has also led to massive looting and wastage of oil and the proceeds of the natural resource leaving the country impoverished.

According to the World Bank, Africa’s top performers in 2020 will be led by South Sudan (8.2%). This coupled with the new peace agreement is expected to overturn the negative tide the country has faced in the last few years.GDP Annual Growth Rate in South Sudan averaged -3.46 percent from 2009 until 2018, …