By Garang Malak

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Juba,

South Sudan’s Central Bank on Tuesday introduced a 1,000 Pound banknote in a move to ease transactions.  

“Our aim is to align the structure of the banknote with the need of the people who use it for their daily transactions. We need banknotes that are convenient, high quality, secure, and cost effective,” Central Bank governor Dier Tong told journalists in Juba on Tuesday.

“In July 2019, the Bank of South Sudan planned to introduce 1,000 Pound after the successful introduction of the 500 Pound banknotes in 2018, which indicated a significant increase in the demand for higher denomination banknotes.”

Mr Tong added that this should not be misinterpreted as going against the bank’s policy of promoting use of electronic modes of payment.

“While vigorously pursuing financial inclusion by accelerating the migration to e-payment platforms, we are also mindful of the relevance of cash in our day to day dealings. Undeniably, cash still remains preferred medium of payment by the large informal sector in the country,” he said.

The Central Bank will soon embark on a nationwide public campaign on the key security features of the new denomination, Mr Tong said.

The 1,000 Pound banknote has a feature for the partially sighted, a watermark, disappearing value, and is a gold-coloured iridescent banknote. It also has a watermark portrait of Dr John Garang De Mabior with the dominant maroon colour and a colour changing holographic security strip, among other distinct features.

First change attempt

The South Sudanese Pound was introduced on July 18, 2011, replacing the Sudanese Pound after the country achieved its independence following 21 years of brutal civil war with the North.

Before the introduction of the 1,000 Pound banknote, the Pound had seven denominations – 1, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 and 500 pounds which was introduced in 2019.

In 2016, the Bank of South Sudan issued a 20 Pound banknote to replace the 25 Pound banknote.

Change of currency

In November 2020, South Sudan’s Central Bank said it would tighten the country’s monetary policy to mitigate the rapid depreciation of the South Sudanese Pound against the US dollar.

In October of the same year, South Sudan’s Council of Ministers opted to change the currency in an attempt to bring back hoarded cash that it claimed is aiding the decline of the economy. This was after Central Bank’s second deputy governor, Daniel Kech Pouch, said the financial institution had run out of foreign reserves, a claim that was later revoked by the former governor Jamal Abdallah. The change of currency was not implemented.