South Sudan says secures $106 mln from donors, will buy food

Juba April 25 (Jonglei Times)-South Sudan has secured $106 million from the World Bank and the African Development Bank, in part to pay for food imports as millions face starvation and to fund the construction of a road to trade partner Kenya, its finance minister said.

South Sudan Minister of Finance

Parts of the war-ravaged country are suffering famine. A three-year civil war has forced millions from their homes, sent the oil-producing economy into a tail-spin and devastated crop harvests, just as the worst drought in years bites.

Finance Minister Stephen Dhieu Dau told Reuters late on Monday that the government had signed a deal with the World Bank for a $50 million grant "to meet the food gaps in South Sudan".

Speaking by telephone from Washington where he had been attending meetings with lenders, the minister said those funds would be disbursed soon and finance food imports from Tanzania and Uganda.

Dau said a further $8 million agreed with the World Bank was earmarked for the construction of a road connecting the capital Juba to Kenya.

Separately, the African Development Bank will provide loans and grants worth $48 million to help strengthen the recession-hit economy, the minister said, without giving details.

South Sudan, the world's youngest country, descended into civil war in 2013 after President Salva Kiir fired his deputy, unleashing a conflict that has spawned a patchwork of armed factions.

The fighting has hit oil production and food cultivation amid soaring inflation. The IMF says the economy shrunk by almost 20 percent in the two years through to 2015/16, and forecasts a 3.5 percent contraction this year.

 

©2017 Jonglei Times Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. 

To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, send your email to jongleitimes@gmail.com.

We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. 

Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which Jonglei Times does not have the legal right to edit or correct.