South Sudan Central Bank Vows To Crackdown On Illegal Foreign Currency Dealers  

By Deng Machol

JUBA, South Sudan -- South Sudan's Central Bank on Friday announced to crackdown on informal foreign currency traders in Juba's capital and across the country in a bid to stabilize the financial sector amid the shortage of the foreign currency. Dr. James Alic Garang, Governor of the Bank of South Sudan warned things are tightened, no illegal sales of foreign currency. 

This comes after the end of the 45 days given by the banking industry regulator to all informal currency traders to obtain licenses for their operations .Dr. Alic said the dealers are required to obtain licenses and comply with this directive with immediate effect.

"From today, it is illegal to sell foreign currency in South Sudan if you don't have a license," Alic told journalists in Juba, the capital of South Sudan.The landlocked country is facing an economic crisis due to a decline in oil exports after war-torn Sudan last month declared force majeure on oil shipments passing through the country.

The South Sudan pound (SSP), which had increasingly weakened against the U.S. dollar last week, started to regain strength following an intense crackdown on unregistered currency traders. The local currency is now trading at 1,700 South Sudan pounds to the U.S. dollars in the middle of this week. This has resulted in skyrocketing prices of commodities and other essential services in the markets across the country. 

According to Baa, a small variability is what is needed between buying and selling prices of dollars relative to the Bank reference rate. 

"No big profit as usual when people obtain abnormal profits from U.S dollar sales," said Alic. Alic said the law enforcement agencies will diligently enforce this policy.