South Sudanese pound is finally buried

By PAL CHOL

             

South Sudanese pound

"I know South Sudan has many qualified economists, some of whom are talented and renowned Dinka academicians. Why are they not appointed to correct this economic mess instead of rotating failed individuals, who were dismissed on charges of having not delivered and on rampant corruption? We would have no objection if any of these qualified economists is appointed from the same area, as is always the case, given the wealth of knowledge they have." 

The 15th December 2015, marks the darkest and the most tragic moment when the South Sudanese pound got ‘buried.’ It is tragic in the sense that this day coincided with the commemoration of the December 2013 massacre of innocent civilians in Juba. The Honorable Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, along with the Central Bank Governor, has put the last nail on our pound’s coffin and laid it to rest. The dollar became the most dominant in essence. An ambiguous quotation table said the official rate of selling in the bank is 18.5 and buying is 18.75. 

Juba Massacre and the consequent massacres

What's important is not mere blame but a process leading to avoidance of historical mistakes. And sometimes bad things have to be relived to avoid their re-occurrences. Anyone, who's ever watched slaves' narratives made into motion pictures might have sometimes questioned the logic of such movies. The pain and anger one feels makes one question the intelligibility in making such gut-wrenching reliving of a painful, grotesque, and immoral past. However, history is a necessary monster that makes the reliving of such events necessary. We have to be reminded of a painful past in order not to repeat it.

We've now passed the second anniversary of the inception of the current crisis and we've been more divided than we've been in decades. South Sudanese are more divided now than they've ever been. And it'll take a very skilled, brave and selfless leader to bring all the tribes together.

I can't see that leader!