The National Alliance of opposition political parties has urged the government to reverse the decision to devalue the South Sudanese pounds.

On Tuesday, the Central Bank announced reforms in the exchange rate policy, abandoning the official rate of the pound against the US dollar.

The official rate of a dollar against the pound was at 2.96 in the Central Bank but it rose to 18.5 after the devaluation.

The state oil firm, Nilepet, has raised the price of a litter of fuel from six to 22 pounds, citing the devaluation.

The chairman of the alliance, Dr. Lam Akol Ajawin, says this could worsen the living conditions of a majority of the people because the economy depends largely on imports.

“We demand the minister of finance to cancel this decision immediately,” Dr. Akol said, adding that: “A sack of flour has increased from 450 to 975 SSP, a sack of sugar of 50 Kg from 650 to 1.250 SSP. We the government which is supposed to take care for citizens, we are killing them, this is not accepted.”

Dr Lam says the government should also cancel a plan to auction some 20 million US dollars on Monday.

He said this could raise prices further and criticized the government for trying any economic theory in South Sudan without studying it.

“We are being used as experiments by the government in bad economics. So we take the role of the guinea pigs, the monkey and all that,” he said.

“My message to the government which is making the people suffer that doesn’t do that let the people enjoy the minimum of what they fought for, that is food.”

But the Minister of Finance, Deng Athorbei, and the Central Bank Governor, Kornellio Koryom, said the move was necessary to streamline the exchange rates.

The President Advisor on Economic Affairs, Aggrey Tisa, also said the reforms are essential as South Sudan prepares to join the East African Community soon.

The Central Bank first made the devaluation in November 2013, but the national assembly ordered for the reversal.