The government has accumulated more than ten billion US dollars in foreign debts over the last three years, according to opposition leader Dr Lam Akol.

He says the debt is not a secret now, although he did not disclose the source of the information.

Dr Lam, who is also the chairman of the SPLM-DC, says the government needs to address the issue of the debts to save the economy.

“Sudan which has been there for almost 60 years now has forty-something billion US dollars in debt, and in less than three years, we have ten billions. How fast will we grow in that respect? Asked Dr Akol during a public lecture in Juba on Tuesday.

“The economic situation is really threatening to say the least, and without peace, there is no way this situation can be solved.

“The leadership needs to look at this thing very critically so that we can save our country.”

The ministry of foreign affairs says it could not confirm the exact amount borrowed over the past three years.

Spokesman Mawien Makol says the government now intends to borrow more money.

“We have a couple of countries that are working with us – which we used to get money from. And it (new loan) is being pursued by the government and I think the whole thing has to wait until it is finalized.”

Recently, the government received more than $200,000 from the Qatar national bank. This is a part of a $500 million loan the nascent state is negotiating with the Qatari bank.