South Sudan limits dollar sales as oil exports fall, says Central Bank Governor Kornelio Mayik

South Sudan has issued new rules banning the trade of dollars in the black market and restricting the sale of hard currency at foreign exchange bureaus.

This is as the country struggles with a shortage of dollars due to falling oil exports.

South Sudan’s oil exports have fallen by more than a third since fighting among ethnic groups erupted last December, leaving the country short of dollars and struggling to pay for food and other imports that it depends upon.

Plummeting oil prices, which have lost more than a third of their value since June, are aggravating the situation.

The Central Bank Governor Kornelio Mayik, said in a notice on Thursday, that companies, organisations and individuals were now banned from buying or selling hard currencies in a parallel or black market, and that those found doing so would be breaking the law.

He did not say what the penalties would be.

Under the new rules, forex bureaus can only sell dollars to companies or individuals that can produce documents showing they require medical treatment, need to pay school fees or require cash for foreign travel, or have family living abroad in need of financial support.

 Dollar sales must only be in bulks of at least $2,000 (Sh180,000), Mayik said, but did not elaborate. The new rules took effect on Thursday.

-Reuters