South Sudan's Minister of Petroleum, Puot Kang Chol/Jale Richard/Eye Radio.

South Sudan’s minister of petroleum has advised young people with capital to start investing in businesses instead of buying expensive cars.

“I think it is time for us to stop buying V8’s and do more investments,” said Puot Kang who believes there are many business opportunities in the country but very few South Sudanese are committing their money into them.

The Japanese made Toyota Land Cruiser V8 is one of the luxury vehicles flooding the streets of Juba.

“Most of you young people who are doing business have been in Uganda, Kenya, Sudan, Egypt, and Ethiopia. Some of you have been in Europe, Australia, United States or Canada. You went to the same schools, you have the same knowledge, I think it is time for us to do the same things or do it even better for the benefit of our own people,” he challenged young South Sudanese during the two-day oil and gas conference in Juba this week.

The Minister for Presidential Affairs,  Dr. Barnaba Marial Benjamin agrees.

He further advised able South Sudanese to turn their finances into businesses instead of spending on extravagant lifestyles.

“I want you especially young people who are doing business, some of you own a lot of cars. If you don’t have one, you buy maybe two V8’s and then you go and look for some nice and beautiful girl, yet you already have a nice one as your wife, then you marry her, and the whole money instead of investing, is spent on having multiples of wives,”Dr. Barnaba said.

“So do your business,” the presidential affairs minister advised.

According to the World Bank, the business community in South Sudan is typical of a low-income post-conflict country, but with a particularly weak productive sector and an outsize importance of NGOs and foreign-owned businesses.

Its 2020 study on business and enterprises in South Sudan says two in five commercial businesses are foreign-owned; employing more South Sudanese than foreign nationals, and source some inputs locally.

Business obstacles, it says include insecurity, lack of demand including due to inflation, no access to finance, and electricity.