The Minister of Petroleum, Ezekiel Lol Gatkuoth told the BBC that South Sudan’s economic is booming during an interview with James Copnall.
Asked about human rights abuses and mass displacement, the minister without batting an eyelid said it was a rebel propaganda, “and we are stabilising the situation in the country. Economy is booming. As a minister of petroleum we are working hard to make sure that the money we are getting from oil is actually used to provide services.”
A slightly astonished James Copnall replied, “I have to pick you up on one thing there. You say the ‘economy is booming’, that clearly is not the case. The inflation is soaring, hundreds of per cent in some cases. People are struggling to get by, you can’t claim the economy is booming”.
”The economy is booming. I can actually guarantee you that, the situation we used to have last year and today is not the same,” Ezekiel Lol shot back with no hesitation whatsoever.
He justified his statement by saying that the country is producing 150,000 barrels of oil per day. James Copnall pointed out to him that before the war South Sudan produced 350,000. Ezekiel doubled down and said that in 2016, the production was lower at 120,000.
Source: The National Courier