Officials of the Ministry of Finance, Central Bank, and regional financial management institute MEFMI pose for a photo following the signing of a MoU in Juba. May 22, 2024. (Photo: Yar Ajak/Eye Radio

South Sudan signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Macroeconomic and Financial Management Institute for Eastern and Southern Africa (MEFMI) on Tuesday, making the country the latest member of the bloc.

Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning Agok Makur, who signed on behalf of the government, said the country will now be able to effectively utilize its resources and bring its debts under control.

Makur said the MEFMI membership will also benefit the two financial institutions – the Central Bank and Finance Ministry – through capacity building and human resources.

“To be a part of this macroeconomic and financial management, we benefit as South Sudan, especially in the Ministry of Finance and Central Bank, in terms of capacity building and human resources,” he told the media in Juba.

“It is not only from the debt management or microeconomic development but also, we can go beyond, because as we know, the African continent has many resources here, and we need to use it.”

MEFMI is a regional organization that promotes sustainable economic development through macroeconomic, debt management and financial management capacity building.

Emphasizing policy formulation, implementation, and analysis, MEFMI supports its member countries in achieving macroeconomic stability, sustainable growth, and financial sector resilience.

By becoming a member of MEFMI, South Sudan gains access to a wide range of capacity-building programs, technical assistance, and policy advice to enhance its economic governance and financial management capabilities.

Central Bank Governor Dr. James Alic Garang said the country will require significant assistance in ways to manage its debt, boost macroeconomic conditions, grow the bond market, and develop its financial system.

Dr. Garang said the country should not only depend on a narrow market, or foreign exchange market, adding that there is a need to tap into the bond market.

“There are areas where we are going to need greater support in the area of finance, really, the debt management. At the Bank of South Sudan, we need reserve management, macroeconomic forecasting, those are the areas.”

“These are the two institutions. But for the country, we need to put our foothold in the financial market, in the development of the bond market.”

A narrow market is an inactive market, which displays large fluctuations in prices due to a low volume of trading, while a bond market is a marketplace for debt securities.

This market covers both government-issued and corporate-issued debt securities, and allows capital to be transferred from savers or investors to issuers who want funds for projects or other operations.

“In this country, we depend so much on a narrow market, and that is the foreign exchange market. But there are other markets that we have not developed,” Garang said.

“The development of financial markets, something that we see in Zambia, in Kenya, in South Africa, in Egypt, in Ghana, in other places, in Cote d’Ivoire; we need to tap also into the bond market, and we have not done that before.”

In his statement, Louis Kasekende, Executive Director of MEFMI, stated that the organization takes pride in meeting the unique capacity requirements of its member states.

He added that whenever South Sudan declares its areas of interest, the financial institution will respond accordingly.

“We pride ourselves in responding to the capacity needs of the country. So, we have a discussion with you and you say, yes, this may be the focal area, for example debt management, we shall respond” he said.

“We have tools that we use to respond. We pride ourselves in responding quickly to your needs.”

Before South Sudan joined, the Macroeconomics and Financial Management Institute for Eastern and Southern Africa had roughly fourteen members.

They include Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Zambia, Angola, Botswana, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe are among the member states; Harare serves as the institute’s headquarters.