War-hit South Sudan cancels Independence Day celebrations

“We decided not to celebrate the July 9 Independence Day, because we don’t want to spend that much,” Minister of Information Michael Makuei told reporters. “We need to spend the little that we have on other issues.”

In past years, even at the height of a civil war characterised by horrific rights abuses including gang rapes, the wholesale burning of villages and cannibalism, the government organised military parades and other celebrations.

But Makuei said this year the party would not happen.President Salva Kiir is still expected to address the nation on July 9, five years after the world celebrated with South Sudan as it broke away from old enemies in the rump state of Sudan after decades of conflict.

But South Sudan is struggling to stem soaring inflation caused by the war, rampant corruption and the near collapse of the oil industry upon which the vast percentage of government foreign exchange earnings depend.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned the economy is in ruins with soaring inflation at almost 300 per cent and the currency slumping by 90 per cent this year.

Central bank international reserves to cover imports “have dwindled to a few days” the IMF said earlier this month, with the government’s deficit expected to top $1.1 billion (999 million euros) this year, some 25 per cent of GDP.

Diplomats say Juba has borrowed cash against future oil production, while the UN Security Council in May ordered investigations into weapons flows with reports that huge sums have been spent equipping the army.

Civil war erupted in South Sudan in December 2013 but rebel chief Riek Machar returned to the capital in April as part of a peace deal which saw him become vice-president, forging a unity government with Kiir.

But fighting continues between multiple militia forces who now pay no heed to either Kiir or Machar.