South Sudan will soon recover its fallen economy if the oil refineries are opened in Unity and Upper Nile States, said Vice President Dr. James Wani Igga.
Speaking during SPLM Youth League Revival Conference yesterday, Igga said that Ministries of Petroleum and Mining have assured the Cabinet of the opening of the oil refineries and mining fields that have been closed due to insurgencies in the region.
“The first thing we are going to do with this refined fuel is to start distributing to our people and we stop sending hard currency to Kenya or Uganda and after selling and satisfying ourselves then we will start selling to our neighbours and so the opposite will start soon and this is going to happen,” the Vice President said.
He emphasized that the high prices in the market would also reduce after the government embarks on Agriculture by using the income that would come from fuel and minerals. “I am very confident that soon our country will not be killed by hunger but it will become prosperous as a result of the availability of dollars that will come from our oil and mining sectors,” Igga said.
It is reported that South Sudan plans to resume crude output in Unity State by September this year. Oil fields in Unity will gradually raise output of about 50,000 barrels per day, and a new refinery built by Russian and South Sudanese companies near the state capital, Bentiu, will begin producing 3,000 barrels of diesel per day.