By John Kongor Thuou Deng
Dear compatriots, lean me your good eyes, brains and valuable moment to carefully read first the academic milestones undertaken by Cde, Hon. Agak Achuil Lual Manokdit, the national minister of finance and planning. Cde, Achuil who descended from the generous and high profile family in Kuac Ayok Magong /Kuacjok, ranked among the rare human personalities with benevolent intelligence quotient in the modern era.
The critique of progress will take their valuable time at tea hub, cracking noise on how a teacher got experience to write about the economic affairs facing South Sudan. I want assure that ” De mah deer economic sciences”. Take a few minutes and go through to acquaint yourself with the executive experiences and performances of Hon. Achuil. Hopefully, understanding the administrative governance of someone is prior to cultural beliefs and will help you to build a friendly approach with Hon. Agak Achuil Lual who vividly raised his competitive educational skills as a prominent economist from the Egyptian University of Zagazig. He then graduated in 1979 and got employed as a civil servant. He later on joined UNDP work for a numerous years as an economist consultant.
In 2014 he decided to quit the work of NGOs whereby he was appointed as Director for Downstream in the Ministry of petroleum. On the other hand, he enrolled for a high diploma and officially graduated on 14th December 2017 from the field of Accounting and Finance, university of Juba. As a South Sudanese-born Economist he had another distinguished master’s degree in the same specialization, University of Juba.
Furthermore, South Sudanese and Africans have had developed culture for centuries that depreciate the eminent figures with great contribution in societal settings. This perception need to be changed. We have to appreciate the job well done by nationalists before they pass on. In comparative points of view, the huge experience and technical skills acquired by Cde, Acuil in his previous assignment as 1st Undersecretary in the ministry of finance and planning and as Undersecretary in the ministry of trade added successfully weight in championing the services delivery at the current position of finance minister.
As the saying goes, “experience is the best master”, manifested in the personality of Hon. Acuil. He is the kind of a leader who never shy away from his people. He has develop a concept of vibrant confidence of honesty. Everyone knows that Hon. Agak Achuil is an honest person in telling truths, no doubt, no fear and someone who has no attitude of hatred in someone’s progress.
The Monetary History of South Sudan has been so frustrated since 2013 which made every citizen go angry against their own country. In this regard half of the population in South Sudan has gone so desperate and alternatively to encounter this alarming situation, the President has taken an excellent new mechanism to appoint a professional finance experts especially economic cluster Ministries in the image of Hon. Agak Achuil Lual to lead the ministry of finance and planning.
Hon. Agak who did his research methodology in three courses majoring Bachelor degree,High diploma and Master degree at the university of Juba supplemented by his huge experiences in civil servant to None governmental organizations (NGOs) is a tremendous blessing to run the ministry of finance and planning with high level sufficiency and efficiency. His appointment as economic expert open windows of opportunities to both civil and military servants to ensure the clearance of unpaid Allowances and arrears to all government institutions including public universities and diplomatic missions that went beyond 12 months without salaries.
As you come to organization and governance for the Central Bank of South Sudan, in the planned policy to work for efficiency and effectiveness and is to exercise the power and supervisory authority and impose on the regulations that are stipulated in the laws to govern commercial banks. In order to Foster the price stability and economic growth is to adapt the soundful financial system in South Sudan. As such, it helps to regulate the framework for exchange rates and conventional banking services.
Before then the independence of South Sudan in July 2011 upto 2013 the banking system in South Sudan was controlled and governed well by the government. In many ways the modern central banking system is built in the image of the central bank of South Sudan in order to create the roadmap for maintaining and monitoring of the monetary policy that ensures the prices and exchange rates as it may be required by the economic principles.
In separate fragile development,there emerged a great deal circulations of misinformation speculated by the enemies of regime change, mounting a lot of blames and insults against Hon. Agak Achuil Lual, the minister of finance and planning to be an obstacle behind the rise of dollars price exchange and skyrocketing of the prices in the local markets across the country. The white rumors that hold no water.
This misinformation aimed highly to trigger the political sabotage by the lobbyists who are extremely interested to bring their men to the ministry in order to satisfy their egocentric desires. South Sudan indeed has become a state where middle men/dealers become anchors of change within the executive, the highest organ of government.
The presidency is working day and night to ensure government institutions are operating independently without involvement of middlemen. However, I argue the able leadership of peace loving icon H.E. Gen. Salva Kiir Mayardit to greatly disown their fakes double dealing of spoiling his credible personality. To be brief and precise, the existing factor which resulted the rise of dollar exchange rate and skyrocketing of the prices in the markets is here under:-
Before the appointment of the economic expert, Hon. Agak Achuil Lual to the ministry of finance and planning, there were accumulated arrears of both civil and military servants across the country. He doubled his efforts as much as he could to ensure the clearance of unpaid Allowances and arrears to all government institutions including public universities and diplomatic missions that went beyond 12 months without salaries.
This resulted in the accumulation of local currency in the market towering the foreign currency. In the simple policy of demand and supply, the United States of American dollars spontaneously shoot miserably against South Sudanese Pound. Remember, the minister use to release two months arrears of 17 billion Pound consecutively leading to amalgamation of local currency in the markets.
As such, the competent minister of finance and planning, Hon. Agak Achuil Lual promised to inject 200,000,000 American dollars through the Central Bank of South Sudan by boosting the forexs and commercial banks to stabilize the local markets, immune South Sudanese Pound to control dollars down its knees. The minister promised to release the salaries of May, June and July respectively in order to begin the new year budget in good faith as he continues to inject millions of dollars in the markets.
The writer holds Bachelor of Arts in education, department of Geography and History in the University of Bahr el Ghazal. He is also finalist of master program in education, department of History in the University of Juba. However, the writer can be easily reach at email yomadiang10@gmail.com.
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