As South Sudan struggles with a severe shortage of cash, a leading economist has called on the Minister of Finance and Planning, Dr. Marial Dongrin Ater, to implement a set of strategic measures to ease the crisis and stabilize the country’s financial system.
In a letter addressed to Dr. Marial, economist Baak Chan Yak Deng (MAF) outlined six key steps designed to resolve the shortage, a situation that has made it difficult for the government to pay salaries and businesses to operate smoothly.
Dr. Marial recently admitted the shortage of cash and pledged to resolve it promptly without elaboration.
However, according to the economist, the best way forward depends on the specific context of shortage, butthe there are clear strategies the government can pursue immediately.
Baak Chan advocated for increasing the supply of cash through coordination between commercial banks and the central bank, while optimizing cash reserves to enable timely replenishment of ATMs and bank branches.
He called for comprehensive forecasting to anticipate cash demand and for banks to adopt real-time monitoring systems to track their cash flow more accurately.
Baak Chan stressed the need to modernize cash handling and transportation systems, and to expand digital financial services to ease reliance on physical cash.
Other measures include policy incentives to promote cashless transactions, collaboration with the private sector to resolve scarcity collectively, and discouraging people from hoarding large amounts of cash at home.
He added: “Implementing these measures will help stabilize cash availability, foster confidence in the financial system, and ease the pressure on businesses and ordinary people.”
Meanwhile, economist Abraham Maliet called on the public to keep their money in banks instead of hoarding it, adding to scarcity.
Dr. Marial described the shortage as a significant challenge for South Sudan’s economic stability, adding, “How we resolve this will be key to our future recovery.”
