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April 25, 2017 (JUBA) - South Sudan government has secured $106 million to pay for food imports as millions face starvation, the finance minister disclosed.
- South Sudan’s finance minister, Stephen Dhieu Dau, speaks in Juba, 23 July 2013 (Photo: Larco Lomayat)
Part of it, Stephen Dhieu Dau said, will fund the construction of a road to Kenya.
The minister, in a statement, said the funds will come from the World Bank and the African Development Bank, adding that that South Sudan government signed a deal with the World Bank for a $50 million grant “to meet the food gaps in South Sudan”.
Dau, currently in Washington to attend a meeting, with lenders said those funds would be disbursed soon to finance food imports from Tanzania and Uganda.
A further $8 million, he said, was agreed with the World Bank for the construction of a road connecting the capital Juba to Kenya. Separately, the African Development Bank, according to the minister, will provide loans and grants worth $48 million to help strengthen the recession-hit economy, but did not provide further details on this.
The delegation reportedly also had bilateral meetings with senior officials from the U.S State Department and the U.S aid arm (USAID), as well as representatives of other countries to the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.
The delegation briefed the IMF, the WBG and State Department representatives on the current status of South Sudanese economy, including the reform and revitalization agenda, which is now a top priority for the Transitional Government of National Unity (TGoNU), the humanitarian situation in the country and the urgent need to reactivate and where possible, initiate developmental projects in the country.
While acknowledging the challenges facing the Republic of South Sudan, the IMF and the WGB appreciated the economic measures and reform programs currently pursued by the Ministry of Finance and Planning and the Bank of South Sudan. The two institutions further committed to continue to provide Technical Assistance (TA) to enable the Ministry and Bank of South Sudan deliver in their reform agenda.
To that effect, the IMF Country program team will continue with the ongoing Technical Assistance (TAs), including in budget making process, targeting 2017/2018 Financial Year. In addition to the recently provided $40M (Only Forty Million US Dollars) for Emergency Health response program in the former Upper Nile and Jonglei States, the World Bank has just provided $50m for emergency food services in the context of the ongoing famine in some part of the country.
The World Bank further indicated its willingness to reactivate their portion of funding for the Juba – Torit – Kapoeta – Nadapal Road, officials said.
(ST)
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