John Ohisa Damian, Governor of the Central Bank. Courtesy.

The Bank of South Sudan has said communal violence, drought, persistent flooding, and surging prices of food items will pose a real threat to the country’s economic recovery this year.

The central bank stated that South Sudan is also heavily dependent on imports for most of its goods and services.

In an extraordinary meeting chaired by the bank’s governor yesterday, Johnny Ohisa Damian said the bank’s Monetary Policy Committee discussed key monetary and banking policies to guide economic activities in the country from January 1^st to December 31^st, 2023.

In a press release seen by Eye Radio’s news team after the meeting, the central bank observed that the global economy is expected to slow down in 2023.

This is because of rising inflation, tightening financial conditions in most regions, attributed to the war in Ukraine, and the persistent Covid-19 pandemic among others.

According to the Bank of South Sudan, the 2023 monetary and banking policies are designed to provide optimal liquidity directed toward achieving and maintaining prices and financial stability.

The bank resolved to maintain its rate of interest at 12 percent per annum, and the minimum reserve requirement ratio at 20 percent of commercial bank deposits both in local and foreign currency.

The financial monetary and regulatory body also encouraged commercial banks to increase lending to the private sector to up to 40 percent of their total deposits.

It has also resolved to maintain a liquidity ratio of at least 20 percent of local and foreign currencies-denominated deposits.

Consumers have complained of a sharp rise in the prices of basic commodities while traders have also raised concerns over their inability to access hard currency for importing goods.

Experts have repeatedly called for structural and institutional reforms to address the country’s economic woes.