The Central Bank has announced a reform in the exchange rate policy, abandoning the official rate of the pound against all foreign currencies.

The move is an attempt to solve the country’s economic difficulty.

The country has been faced with scarcity of hard currency, particularly the US dollar, along with the sharp fall in the value of the pounds.

The official rate of a dollar against the pound was at 2.96. On the black market it sells at 18.5 pounds.

As a result, living standard is increasingly expensive because the country relies heavily on imports.

However, in a statement yesterday, the Finance and Economic planning minister, Deng Athorbei, said the value of the other currencies against the pounds will be left to be determined by the overall market demand.

Mr. Athorbei says there will be no more official rate for the pound against the US dollar and other foreign currencies.

“Although we expect a lot of benefits to our country as a result of these reforms, it is also true that these measures will suddenly have some adverse effects on our people particularly in the short term,” he warned.

“To minimize the effects of these reforms, the government will undertake to raise the salaries of the lower income group.”

Mr Athorbei says the public will be informed soon about new measures on how these reforms will be productive.

“I therefore ask all of you to be patient as we undertake these difficult necessary reform measures,” Mr Athorbei added.