Browsing: South Sudan

The guns on the plains of South Sudan seem to have fallen silent. But there is a more severe battle going on. The country is experiencing on of its worst financial crisis since its independence with prices of basic goods skyrocketing to unprecedented levels. 

 Some news agencies are reporting that communities are opting to live in UN refugee camps, where they are assured of a meal and shelter rather than live in their own homes. The central bank is unable to intervene and reduce the country’s skyrocketing inflation rate, which now stands at 35%. 

The situation has been attributed to multiple issues. The country has hardly been peaceful since it gained independence from Sudan. There has been heightened political animosity which has often led to full-blown military conflict.  

There has been little or no investment to a point where the UN has considered paving some of the roads in the …

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 …

The East African economies were looking forward to 2020 with a lot of optimism. While there were issues with inflation and money circulation in Kenya, projections still showed the country would comfortably manage a growth range of above 5 percent. All the other eastern African countries were projected to do even much better with Rwanda leading in terms of growth averaging 7 percent. Then, Coronavirus happened. This has reversed the projections with fear that the region with the highest growth rate in Africa will stagnate. This has already been felt with stock markets across the region registering massive capital loss and foreign investors shying away from the market. The region is also looking at ways of sustaining their economies amid lockdowns in Uganda and Rwanda, partial lockdown in Kenya and a non-restrained movement approach in Tanzania.

The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) latest World Economic Outlook projections for 2020 pegs Kenya …

The first quarter of 2020 has had mixed results for the economies of East Africa. The weather, a key determinant of inflation rates, has been good. Forex rates have remained stable in the region as a balance between dollar demands and diaspora remittance has been easily reached. Eastern Africa is one of the regions in Africa with the highest growth rate and this has remained so in the first two months of the year, with Ethiopia and Rwanda still in the driver’s seat. In terms of foreign direct investments, Kenya and Ethiopia are still the leading pack, with Kenya receiving investments in ICT and manufacturing while Tanzania is receiving investments in mining. Rwanda is a leading conference destination and Uganda is receiving investments in renewable energy as well as in oil and gas.

Kenya and Rwanda are still leading in developing policies that promote trade and investments, while Ethiopia is …

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, …

Uganda is hoping to increase its trade ties with South Sudan following the completion and handover of the first phase of Nimule one-stop border post (OSBP) to the Juba government.

The Nimule one-stop border post (OSBP) is $5 million facility funded by the UK government through TradeMark East Africa (TMEA).

South Sudan customs officials will managed the Nimule one stop border post. While Elegu, the Ugandan side of the border has for a while now been operating as OSBP.

The Minister of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives, Ms Amelia Anne Kyambadde described the project as “a very important development” for not just South Sudan and Uganda but the entire EAC regional trade.

“With opening of the Nimule OSBP, I expect an exponential rise in trade. We expect to grow our trade with South Sudan by close of the year by even $500million. We would like to see our traders form orderly …

South Sudan traders and businesses are hoping for intermission in the foreign exchange market after the Bank of South Sudan said it would introduce dollars into the market to protect the local currency.

Since after the payment of several months of salaries in arrears in September, South Sudan pound has been weakening against the dollar.

“The pound has lost value in the past two months due to the impact of the recent payment of salaries,” said Central Bank Governor Dier Tong.

About $115.2 million which is about 31 per cent of the currency in circulation was put into the economy for the payments.

Also Read: AfDB funds South Sudan’s capital city power distribution system

In October, South Sudan’s government secured $400 million financings from the Africa Export-Import Bank to pay the salaries and finance infrastructure projects.

Elijah Wamalwa the managing director and CEO of Co-operative Bank of South Sudan said …

South Sudan is leaving its violent past behind as the country finally heads towards lasting stability.

Boasting the third-largest oil reserves in sub-Saharan Africa, South Sudan is the only mature oil producer in East Africa. The country is one of the oldest producers on the continent, with substantial proven reserves of close to 3.5 billion barrels of oil and 3 trillion cubic feet of gas.

Dr Arkangelo Okwang Oler, Director-General for Planning, Training and Research at South Sudan’s oil ministry, spoke at the recent Africa Oil & Power 2019 conference in Cape Town,  reassuring investors that now is the time to invest in the country.

According to Dr Oler, South Sudan’s oil production has increased and once they have fully accessed a new oil field, 5A, they can expand production. He says, “We’re currently processing 178 000 barrels but this is without 5A, once this agreement is processed we should …

Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta has announced that the first berth of the new Lamu Port will be opened in October.

Lamu Port is the country’s second major sea port after the Port of Mombasa. It is part of the US$24.5 billion Lamu-Port-South-Sudan-Ethiopia-Transport corridor project aimed improving trade in the region.

The President who visited the project over the weekend expressed satisfaction with the progress of the ongoing construction works at the seaport.

He said the mega project will create the much needed jobs for Kenyan youth.

“Since I was here last year, it is true you’ve worked hard. Very soon, next month, we will be here to open the first berth which I am told you will have completed,” the President announced.

“We will launch by seeing a ship dock here to offload cargo. Offloading of cargo will be the beginning of jobs not just for you alone but also …

Leading electronic financial services company NilePay PLC has partnered with Zain South Sudan to launch the first licensed mobile money service in South Sudan.

Dubbed ‘NilePay Mobile Money’, the service is expected to deepen financial inclusion in the country.

The partnership is geared towards eliminating significant barriers that have hindered consumers in the country from taking full advantage of global eCommerce.

“NilePay Mobile Service’s partnership with Zain South Sudan is part of the company’s long-term strategy to enable eCommerce and digitize financial services across the country,” said Darius Mobe, Director, NilePay Mobile Money.

Most people in South Sudan’s capital have been relying on unlicensed mobile operators to transfer money through platforms created by MTN Uganda and Kenya’s M-PESA.

“We are excited to have partnered with NilePay PLC to bring the mobile wallet services to the South Sudan market, which makes it more convenient and secure for users to withdraw …