The dialogue table that aimed at approving the general budgets in South Sudan is interrupted. The proposal requesting an increase in the salaries of civil servants was the breaking point in the negotiations, the meeting was interrupted when the opposition deputies decided to withdraw from the meeting, due to the government's refusal.
The specific proposal called for a 600 percent increase in the salaries of civil servants, and was presented by the opposition, an increase that exceeded by 200 percent what the government was willing to accept.
In this way, it seems that the period the country has been without approved budgets will be postponed even beyond two months. Those who withdrew from the negotiating table were the representatives of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement, led by Riek Machar.
The main consequence of this breakdown in dialogue could be that it could set a negative precedent a semester away from the beginning of 2024, when the country aspires to hold the first elections since its independence from North Sudan.
Currently, the situation in South Sudan remains volatile, with a population of 10,748,272 people, more than 8 million people are in need of assistance and protection. In addition, 170 percent inflation persists, compounded by a lack of fuel, basic foodstuffs and medicines.
The country has been living for years in a political stalemate, which, according to a United Nations report, could generate a spiral of violence at any moment.
There are many failures to comply with the political stabilization agenda that the country has committed to carry out.
In this sense, there is constant mediation by the international community to help maintain a degree of stability in the country and thus avoid further aggravation of social and economic problems.
Among these actions carried out with international mediation are projects to improve food security, consolidate peace, strengthen governments, and strengthen the economy, including local economies.
The capital of South Sudan is Juba and its currency is the South Sudanese Pound. The country is the 168th largest economy by GDP. Its public debt in 2019 was €1.547 billion, with a debt of 42.83% of GDP. Its per capita debt is €148 per capita, its inhabitants are among the least indebted in the world.
As for the Human Development Index or HDI, which is developed by the United Nations to measure the progress of a country and which ultimately shows us the standard of living of its inhabitants, it indicates that the South Sudanese are among those with the worst quality of life.