Hon. Athian Diing Athian, the newly appointed Minister of Finance and Planning, and Hon. Addis Ababa Othow, Governor of Bank of South Sudan - Courtesy .

JUBA, South Sudan (Eye Radio) —The National Parliament has resolved to summon the Minister of Finance and Planning, the Governor of the Bank of South Sudan, and the Financial Intelligence Unit to address the severe cash shortage in commercial banks.

The decision followed an urgent motion tabled by lawmaker Michael Rout Koryom, who highlighted the “untold suffering” of public servants and their families.

He stated that the crisis has forced civil servants to queue for days to withdraw as little as 50,000 pounds and rely on loans to feed their families.

“For the last two months, civil servants and MPs had their salaries transferred to their personal accounts with the commercial banks from the Central Bank of South Sudan. Difficulties arise when it comes to withdrawing cash from those banks,” Rout Koryom told lawmakers.

“Civil servants would queue up, waiting for the traders to deposit their cash, and only then would the commercial banks pay their civil servants.”

Lawmakers expressed concerns that, despite transfers from the Central Bank, civil servants—including MPs—are unable to access their salaries.

They questioned the whereabouts of public deposits and criticized commercial banks for charging fees on withdrawals and deposits instead of paying interest.

MP Betty Achan Agwaro argued that this practice discourages people from banking. “When the bank is consuming the little you have, why would I keep my money in the bank? So that’s why people are not banking, and the banks have no money,” she said.

MP Dushman demanded transparency from the Central Bank.

“We need the Central Bank to come here and tell us where the money is. Secondly, Central Bank is in auction. Where did they get this money that they are auctioning out?” he questioned.

“We need them to come here. Even if tomorrow or next tomorrow, then we will question them properly. Where is the money?”

Some lawmakers offered additional solutions. MP Julius Moilinga proposed introducing a new currency to flush out hoarded cash, while MP Chabur Goc suggested that some of the shortage might be due to the South Sudanese pounds allegedly circulating in Sudan’s Darfur region.

He called for the Financial Intelligence Unit to be summoned to investigate this claim.

The three institutions are expected to appear before the lawmakers in the coming days.