South Sudan denies change of currency plan

South Sudan's President Salva Kiir has said his government has no plans to change the country's currency as announced by the minister of information.

President Kiir said the change "was a suggestion, a proposed idea to be studied by the economists".

The announcement had caused a hyperinflation rate in the market, according to a government statement.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) ranks South Sudan as the poorest in the world by Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per person.

The country is almost solely dependent on oil revenues and there is very little investment in other sectors such as agriculture and infrastructure.

The government tweeted that the change was mentioned as one of the long-term economic measures but was not agreed on:

President Salva Kiir called for an extraordinary meeting of the Council of Ministers to discuss the current economic crisis in the country with particular focus on the hyperinflation rate in the market due to the announcement made by Information Minister Michael Makuei Lueth

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— South Sudan Government ???????? (@SouthSudanGov) October 14, 2020