July 4, 2021 — South Sudan’s Minister of Petroleum, Hon Puot Kang Chuol, has called on young people to start investing their money wisely instead of spending it on luxurious rides such as V8s.
South Sudan, a country that was never developed, was erased to ashes recently by a 5-7 year brutal civil war but in the middle of the conflict those who have access to resources live large, doing luxurious weddings and buying expensive homes abroad, while the have-nots continue to languish on the streets or in the IDPs and refugees camps.
According to Mr. Puot Kang, the few youth who are doing businesses in the capital have been to East African countries or to western world, and should therefore invest better.
“Most of you young people who are doing business have been in Uganda, Kenya, Sudan, Egypt, and Ethiopia. Some of you have been in Europe, Australia, United States or Canada. You went to the same schools, you have the same knowledge, I think it is time for us to do the same things or do it even better for the benefit of our own people,” Hon. Puot Kang said during the recent oil and gass conference in Juba.
“I think it is time for us to stop buying V8’s and do more investments,” Mr. Kang added.
Speaking alongside the Minister of Petroleum, Hon. Barnaba Marial Benjamin, who represented the president during the event, reiterated that South Sudanese should focus more on doing business than living extravagant lifestyles.
“I want you especially young people who are doing business, some of you own a lot of cars. If you don’t have one, you buy maybe two V8’s and then you go and look for some nice and beautiful girl, yet you already have a nice one as your wife, then you marry her, and the whole money instead of investing, is spent on having multiples of wives,”Dr. Marial Benjamin said..
“So do your business,” he continued.
Graduating a badge of politicians recently from Juba University, President Salva Kiir also warned of the same issue saying employments will be awarded on the basis of merits and therefore young people should create their own jobs.
Although the politicians are encouraging the young people to invest in the country, South Sudan is currently in a state of no-war and no-peace, leaving many investors wondering of when to start investing in a country that has known more war than peace.
In addition to political instability and economic crises, nearly half of the country’s population remains displaced either within the country or to neighboring countries.
