Delegates from the East African Community Secretariat are in Juba, holding a consultative meeting with stakeholders on the EAC Banking Certification program.

South Sudan joined the regional block in 2016 and is currently being integrated into the various systems.

Abraham Chol from the East African Community Affairs department in South Sudan said the program is aimed at harmonizing all banking certification programs in the region.

“If there are states that do not have this, then the East African community secretariat is putting these countries to have these countries brought up to this level of the other partner states,” he said.

The consultation follows a study commissioned by EAC secretariat on East African Banking Industry.

The study conducted by University of Dar es Salaam Business School addressed the challenges posed by human capital of the banking industry in the EAC.

Daniel Lomuja, the Director of training at the Bank of South Sudan, said one of the main objectives is capacity building in professionalism:

“The program objective is to see that those working in the banking industry in the six countries in the East African community must be competent, that is properly trained and they have to work according to banking ethics.”

The stake holders include senior officials from the central bank, East African community affairs, ministries of finance, south Sudan bankers association, and national institute of bankers and commercial banks officials.