00:00Commercial banks across Juba and other major cities have been struggling to meet customer
00:11demand for physical currency, leaving businesses and individuals struggling to conduct basic
00:17transactions, sparking calls for accountability from the country's leadership, even as commercial
00:23banks attribute the problem to a severe shortage of liquidity.
00:27The family is sleeping without money, without food, and they have money in their own accounts.
00:33We are not able to assess it.
00:34We are only told no money.
00:36Why?
00:37We are not being clearly explained as to why.
00:40I went to the bank to withdraw some money so that I will feed my family.
00:46But the issue is, when you are going to withdraw the money, the bank said, the bank staff will
00:52tell you that there is no cash, and sometimes they can allow you a $100 fee.
00:57This $100 fee will not bring 50 kg of milk flour.
01:04South Sudan's pound has been losing value fast, a result of years of civil conflict and instability.
01:11According to the World Bank, the country remains fragile and economic growth has barely recovered
01:18since the 2018 peace deal.
01:21South Sudan's central bank is responsible for managing money circulation, but it says it is
01:27now discouraging cash-based transactions and wants people to go digital.
01:33The Bank of South Sudan is promoting a national electronic payment system which it says could
01:39modernize the economy and reduce dependence on cash.
01:43The national payment system is our strategic response to all these challenges.
01:51It lays the foundation of a modern digital financial infrastructure, making financial services faster, safer, more affordable, and accessible to all.
02:12However, there exists a fundamental mismatch between digital salary payments and physical cash availability.
02:19Some legislators have claimed that while salaries have been processed electronically, banks simply
02:26lack the physical currency to dispense them, pointing to a shortage of liquidity supply from the central bank.
02:32But economic experts say digital solutions alone will not fix the root cause of South Sudan's economic problems,
02:39which is over reliance on volatile oil revenues.
02:43World Bank data shows the country's economy will contract by 30% this financial year, marking a sixth consecutive decline.
02:53Oil revenues account for more than 80% of the national budget, and the ongoing conflict in neighboring Sudan has disrupted production and exports.
03:03With the country's crisis deepening, South Sudan's path to digital payments could be a lifeline, but only if the economy finds a stable source of income.
Be the first to comment