by bssDinner at Radisson Hotel
By Nikodemo Arou:
Central bank’s Governor Hon. Moses Makur Deng has congratulated the managing director of National Bank of Egypt for opening its subsidiary in Juba.
He spoke at a dinner reception hosted by the NBE to mark the start of its operations in South Sudan. The governor said the bank would facilitate business within South Sudan, stressing that the Central Bank of Egypt would provide training opportunities to commercial banks in the country.
The governor noted that the subsidiary bank unlike the branch, which must take orders from the mother bank, would work better in South Sudan. He urged the foreign banks to abide by local act and laws, among others, noting that 90 percent of workforce would be local staff.
On the other hand, the Vice President Dr. James Wani Igga hailed South Sudan- Egypt relations, citing the inauguration of the subsidiary of National Bank of Egypt would usher in mutual banking transactions and activities. He noted that South Sudan has a high rate of unemployment, adding that the subsidiary has already employed 27 South Sudanese and six Egyptians.
Dr. Wani Igga lamented that over 90 per cent of South Sudanese live under poverty. He called for more cooperation between the monetary and fiscal policies, with a view to resolve current economic problems facing the country.
He decried that most of commercial banks in South Sudan do not provide loans.
He praised Egypt for offering 300 scholarships annually, noting that he had been educated in Egypt. He added those scholarships date back to 1960s and have been cementing the bilateral relations between the two countries, calling for all to stand up for a minute’s silence for the late minister of water and irrigation.
He said Manawa Peter never called for resumption of the Jonglei Canal digging, but only called for dredging the river to enhance the river transport. Wani said we had stopped the river transport because we believed it used to provide weapons to the Sudanese army. As a result, the river with time became shallow, Wani said.
Dr. Wani made a strong case for the river dredging. He underscored that sorghum and other commodities are accumulated in Renk but couldn’t be transported to rest of the country because of shallow rivers.
He added that the flooding has affected many areas in Bentiu, Fangak, Bor and other areas. Let’s not destroy our country because of lack of information, he said.
He noted that the freedom “we have attained would be meaningless if we remain hungry.”
