Police right to crackdown on illegal currency traders, but the economic crisis seems beyond this

The police have intensified crackdown on unregistered currency traders since the elapse of the 45-day ultimatum in early April issued by James Alic Garang, Governor of the Bank of South Sudan.

The central Bank is absolutely right in reorganizing informal currency dealers, because there is no country globally where money is traded in the open like in Juba and other major towns across the country.

The Inspector General of Police Gen. Atem Marol Biar Kuek on Wednesday vowed to intensify the crackdown on local currency traders in Juba, but the current economic woes the country finds itself in are a combination of many things such as blatant corruption, rent-seeking and failure to invest in priority sectors of the economy.

It’s true the major source of hard currency (crude oil exports) has been blockaded due to the ongoing fighting between rival militaries in neighboring Sudan, but the government needs to first curb corruption and excessive expenditure at this moment of economic hardship.

 Some form of austerity is what is needed right now, as the government opens up productive areas with potential to boost it’s non-oil revenue.