South Sudan's English Daily Newspaper
"We Dare where others fear"
By Okech Francis
The Central Bank of South Sudan has opened a new branch at Nimule, the country’s most vibrant inland port, on the Ugandan border raising high optimism in realizing much more revenue from taxes and other fees.
People have noted that the Central Bank branch will effectively curb corruption, a vice which has been blamed for denying the country a lot of revenue from the border point.
“Nimule should be providing a lot of money in taxes to the government but the problem is that not all the money is remitted,” Florence Aol, a 42-year-old woman who attended the opening of the bank branch on Saturday told The Dawn from Nimule.
“If all the money collected can be saved in the Central Bank immediately, it will stop these people from taking away some of the money for corruption,” Aol said.
In effect, according to Governor James Alic Garang, the new branch will effectively boost efficient revenue collection for the benefit of the country.
“Nimule will allow the bank to open several windows from which each client or importing agency will directly make deposits into the government account. This, in our view will boost revenue collection, ensure efficiency in tax collection,” Garang told a crowd in Nimule that gathered to witness the opening ceremony.
The Nimule branch “is crucial because it will reduce risk related to collection, ensure timely revenue mobilisation, reducing bureaucratic red tapes, steaming wattages and at the same time expediting transactions” with agents depositing directly at the bank windows, he said.
Nimule remains arguably South Sudan’s biggest dry port and the country’s most important import lifeline.
What remained wanting has been a professional way of working correctly so that it’s potentials are fully maximised according to the people as well as their local leaders.
And accordingly, a community leader in the town said the potentials of Nimule in terms of revenue generation will effectively be realized with the new branch of the Bank of South Sudan.
“When everyone pays their fees directly to the Bank of South Sudan, there will be no worry of revenue getting lost,” the elderly man who preferred anonymity told The Dawn.
“This is what South Sudan has been missing for all this time and now I believe the branch in Nimule will solve a lot of problems in collecting and remitting revenue here,” he said.
Again, at the bank branch opening, key in the thoughts of the communities were area development issues and job opportunities.
Local inclusion in the workforce at the new branch was at the center of speeches from local leaders, a setiment across the communities who demand to be included in the employment opportunities that the institution offers.
On that, Governor Garang said the Bank of South Sudan has adopted an employment system under his administration of ensuring support staffs are entirely recruited from the local communities.
Garang announced that drivers, cleaners, messengers, and all other non-professional staffs will be strictly employed from the area.
“As we open this branch now, we have already employed 10 people from Nimule here,” he said, noting that ethnic diversity is one of the bank’s policies in employment.
The opening of the bank branch in Nimule comes as the first in the major reforms in economic transformation underway in the country.
The Bank of South Sudan will open its branches in all regions including in key towns like Rumbek, Aweil, Yei and as well other crucial border inlets, Garang said.
“We have to take towns to the people-we have to take financial services to the people,” he told The Dawn separately.
