Matik Kueth
Africa-Press – South-Sudan. Dr. James Alic Garang, Governor of Central Bank of South Sudan [Photo: Matik Kueth, The City Review]
The governor of the Central Bank of South Sudan, Dr. James Alic Garang, declared war on the unregistered forex dealers, saying the bank would not allow such businesses to be conducted in the streets.
Governor Alic stated that exchanging currencies in the streets is against the procedures of the bank and since the crackdown on black-market dealers started three months ago, the trade has reduced.
“I can tell that if any of you can go to Juba, and walk on the streets, you will not see somebody waving his or her local currency or dollars,” Dr. Alic said.
He added, “It is because of what the Central Bank told them. What we have considered phase one or phase two is continuing. So, the Central Bank will not rest until anyone is seen selling on the street. If they are selling their houses, at this point, there is nothing we can do about it. But as time goes by, as we move from phase one, phase two, phase three, and phase four, we will reissue guidelines and also sign the guidelines that we have, and in future, it will be illegal to sell on the street.”
He noted that they are not chastising people for swapping currencies but rather telling them to get registered and operate, even if their businesses are not big.
He stated that it is only in South Sudan where dollars are exchanged on the street, adding that the bank will make sure that any person dealing in the forex business is duly licenced.
“We asked a historical question, which country is selling dollars on the streets? It is only right here in South Sudan. Why should we be the subject? In this case, the Central Bank will not allow anyone to sell on the street,” he said.
“The guidelines are going to be revised to help us ensure that anyone selling on the street is regulated and that, in the future, we have the laws of the land. No one will be allowed to sell on the street,” he stressed.
On December 1, 2023, the Central Bank of South Sudan came up with a new policy to organize an informal foreign exchange market to avoid selling currency on the streets, known as the black market.
The policy was meant to streamline foreign currency trading to allow South Sudan to stabilise the currency market and stabilise prices to allow the bank’s mandate, which is price stability.
Governor Alic noted that the bank will coordinate with other stakeholders to organise the informal market for umbrella traders selling foreign exchange across the city. But since then, a few are still roaming on the streets in different markets in Juba running the same business.
Source: The City Review South Sudan
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