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2 July 2024 (Juba) – The Central Bank of South Sudan has opened a branch in Aweil, the capital of Northern Bahr el Ghazal State, in a move aimed at providing financial services to the local people and creating jobs.
Central Bank Governor James Alic Garang commissioned the launch accompanied by his first deputy Samuel Yanga Mikaya, Yar Telar Ring Deng, Mel Wal Achien, Jacob Dau, Deng Duang Deng and several members of the reconstructed Transitional National Legislative Assembly in Juba.
Opening branches in states is seen as part of the growth strategy championed by the new central bank leadership to diversify the national economy by encouraging financial inclusion through providing savings and loans to small farmers and business operators, most of whom are at the lower levels in the states.
The opening of the Central Bank branch in Aweil brings the total number of branches in the country to 8. Other branches are located in Nimule, Malakal, Wau, Yei, Rumbek and Bor.
The Acting Governor of Northern Bahr el Ghazal State, Tun Luar Ayat, welcomed the opening of the bank branch and said it would reduce distance and costs on the one hand, while providing employment opportunities and services to people on the other.
“What we are seeing today has never happened in Sudan’s history. We have never had a branch of the Central Bank here. We used to go to Wau because this has always been where the branch is located, so whenever we did not have cash here, we would bring money from Wau. With the opening of a branch of the Central Bank here, the payment of salaries to employees will become simple,” he explained.
“The establishment of a branch in Aweil will allow the bank to promote financial inclusion and economic development in Aweil and its surrounding areas. Not only that, the bank will also create some jobs because the security guards will not come from somewhere else but from here, as well as other non-classified staff,” he explained.
Garang Mawien Deng, an elder who attended the inauguration, said several macroeconomic policy reforms, if implemented, would help rebuild national resilience and accelerate poverty reduction.
“These include strengthening tax mobilization to support government spending, restoring the effectiveness of monetary policy, and reviving growth in private sector credit,” he said.
Agriculture remains the main driver of economic growth in South Sudan and a major contributor to poverty reduction. A special focus section on the leadership, led by the Central Bank Governor and his deputy, highlighted several of the many factors that underlie the low productivity and vulnerability of the agricultural sector to climate shocks, and proposed policies that could help transform the sector to improve farmers’ incomes and thus contribute to overall poverty reduction in the country.
Mawien Deng, another official present at the inauguration ceremony, appreciated the opening of the central bank branch in the state but he did not understand why the expansion of the branch into the state had elicited mixed reactions with some praising it while others were against it.
“I have been following the activities of the Governor of the Central Bank of South Sudan and I have seen some questioning the bank’s motives for opening branches in the states. Some have protested on social media, others have praised. I want to make it clear to you that my message should be conveyed as I said it. Opening branches in the states is one of the bank’s greatest achievements, so I commend the governor for his actions. How many governors before him have never taken action? Opening branches will encourage commercial banks to come here as well, and when the number of banks increases, it means more banks and financial services,” Deng explained
He explained that many households in the country specialize in agriculture and support for food production will contribute significantly to reducing rural poverty, as agriculture remains the largest source of income for both poor and non-poor rural households.
Deng Xiaoping explained that agriculture was the main engine of economic growth and the main source of employment.
Deng Agouot Deng, who was speaking in Ayok village in Awirsi district of Northern Bahr el Ghazal state as locals turned out to greet the governor, said agriculture was also the main source of most of the country’s exports. Agriculture is therefore at the heart of the government’s four major development agendas, which aim to achieve 100 per cent food and nutrition security for all.
“We found that increased productivity in the agricultural sector not only benefits poor households, but can also lift them out of poverty.”
Despite the South Sudanese government’s efforts to encourage its people to work towards universal food security, analysts believe that South Sudan’s true agricultural value addition has been overlooked since 2006, when the country gained autonomy from Sudan under the terms of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement.
Many economic development experts have conducted extensive research and recommended policy reforms to help transform the sector and provide food and nutrition security, including strengthening access to agricultural finance, establishing structured commodity exchanges, investing in rainwater harvesting and use of irrigation, and supporting stronger farmer organizations.
(English stone)
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