Africa-Press – South-Sudan. The leadership of the Federal Democratic Party (FDF) said there is a need to diversify the oil revenues to spur economic growth.
Gabriel Changson Chang, the chairperson of the newly established FDP said the revenue from oil should be channelled to other key sectors such as mining, fisheries, livestock, the tourism industry, and the agriculture sector, to avoid over-reliance on one source of revenue stream.
South Sudan’s economy relies heavily on the sale of crude oil.
“South Sudan has about 12 million cattle and almost the same number of sheep and goats. We encourage the private sector and local authorities to establish meat processing facilities to improve food security, household income, job creation, and the national Gross Domestic Product,” Changson said.
The senior politician, who is also the minister of higher education, science, and technology, made the remarks over the weekend [Saturday] during the launching of FDP political activities in Juba.
Also, Changson said there was a need to promote clear guidelines for credit and finance lenders for microfinance to provide financial services to support small-scale businesses for low-income groups.
“Encourage the establishment of cooperative sector pools of local resources to stimulate domestic growth. It is potentially the most inclusive and vibrates domestic enterprise for economic stimulation and poverty reduction, yet South Sudan has not taken advantage of this sector,” he stated.
Changson, who also doubles as the minister of high education, coughed at the country’s overdependence on foreign imports. “Our dependence on foreign imports of almost everything could threaten our national security,” he stated.
The FDP chairperson claimed that unemployment is one of the major causes of inter-communal conflicts, especially in parts of the country like the Greater Upper Nile.
“To address this challenge, a quality alternative to informal education needs to be provided at all levels of learning. Establish quality centres for skills, training, and support for partnerships on skills training between public and private learning institutions.”
He added that the FDP is committed to the full implementation of the peace agreement.
“We recognize the need to harness the great resources of the country to fight the real enemies of the people, which are corruption, poverty, unemployment, ignorance, illiteracy, and moral decline,” Changson stressed.
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