Finance Minister Awow Daniel Chuang, Agriculture and Food Security Minister Josephine Lagu Yanga, and Trade and Industry Minister William Anyuon Kuol faced a barrage of questions from lawmakers regarding the government’s plan to address the looming hunger crisis.
The ministers were summoned in May 2024 after Stephen Bol, an MP representing Mayom County in Unity State, tabled a motion detailing the deteriorating food situation in his constituency and across the nation.
Josephine Lagu Yanga, Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, attributed the hunger crisis to low agricultural production and productivity.
“We will address the critical issue of how we can and how we should increase agricultural production in this country because hunger and food insecurity is indirectly caused by low agricultural production and productivity in the country,” she said.
She went on to criticize the chronic underfunding of the agricultural sector, blaming it for hindering progress.
“Since 2020, when the revitalized transitional government of unity was established, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security has been, on an annual basis, submitting its budget proposal to the Ministry of Finance and Planning. From our record, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security has received zero funding for its capital fund, for its capital expenditure for over four years,” she said.
Awow Daniel Chuang, Minister of Finance, attributed the high prices of essential commodities to inflation, which he said was caused by a shortage of foreign reserves.
“These prices are connected to the inflation. And this inflation is connected to the amount of reserve. If you don’t have enough reserve, the inflation will go high, because you cannot intervene without enough resources,” Awow said during the grilling on Tuesday.
The senior government official defended the government’s efforts to stabilize the exchange rate.
“Because we couldn’t sustain the exchange rate for a long time, that’s why it keeps on going up and down. But we are still fighting it up to now. And that’s why the intervention was actually done, was indeed done, with little resources,” he explained.
Chuang further attempted to appease concerns over delayed salaries by promising imminent payments.
“When we get some little money, we put it into the market, then now it comes back in, in SSP [South Sudanese Pound]. This SSP will accumulate, and now we are going to use it for payment of the salaries. And I can tell you that within the next few days, we are going to have a salary to be paid,” he pledged.
William Anyuon Kuol, the Minister of Trade and Industry, presented a different perspective, highlighting the ministry’s efforts to mitigate the crisis.
“The Ministry of Trade and Industry is working diligently to make sure the essential commodities are really available in the market at subsidized prices,” Anyuon said.
Anyuon elaborated on a government initiative aimed at alleviating the financial burden on citizens.
“This initiative aims to make essential commodities accessible at affordable prices, with a target reduction of 50% to lessen the looming hunger in the country,” he explained.
Anyuon assured the assembly that the ministry is closely monitoring the price of essential commodities through price control mechanisms to ensure stability.
The tense exchange between lawmakers and ministers highlighted the growing public concern over the looming hunger crisis in South Sudan.
The government’s response, with its mix of explanations and promises, remains to be seen as effective in addressing dire situations.