Governor of Central Bank of South Sudan (CBSS) Addis Ababa Othow has revealed that it will print more money as part of a short-term strategy to solve the country’s liquidity crisis.
This announcement comes as comes as the bank struggles with an inability to honor salary checks for civil servants and organized forces.
Speaking to State-run, SSBC, after a summon by the Specialized Committee on Finance at the transitional national Legislative Assembly on Monday, Governor Othow stated that printing more currency is a stop-gap solution while the bank develops long-term strategies.
“In the short-term plans, we have made it very clear that there is a need, an urgent need for us to print money just to meet the high demand right now on the liquidity,” he said after the meeting.
Governor Othow further informed the finance committee that the bank is working on developing medium and long-term strategies to address currency management issues.
He mentioned that a dedicated committee, led by the first deputy governor, has been established to research and propose sustainable, long-lasting solutions for cash management.
Furthermore, the bank is actively developing a “national payment strategy” to modernize and stabilize the financial system.
For some time, the lack of liquidity has been a critical issue, directly impacting the ability of the bank to process essential payments, including public sector salaries.
Following the governor’s explanations, Michael Ayuen, chairperson of the Specialized Committee on Finance expressed support for the proposed solutions.
“We are able to explain to the committee a range of ways to address this situation. That includes policies and having set a committee that is actually working right now on researching the best practices around the region and the world. And be able to generate a recommendation that will form the basis for the way forward,” he said.
Ayuen affirmed that the committee is committed to supporting the Central Bank in its endeavors and looks forward to reviewing the proposed medium and long-term solutions, which will be submitted to the national legislative assembly.
