South Sudan non-oil revenue drops

South Sudan's non-oil revenue dropped dramatically in the year ending December 2016, Customs Service’s Director General Akol Ayii has revealed.

In the year, closure of at least six customs stations slowed down the taxman's efforts.

Last month, South Sudan's tax department urged about 159 officials displaced by the more than three years of conflict to return to work and boost the struggling department.

According to Mr Madut, officials who had abandoned duty left the tax body struggling with a huge human resource gap, hence affecting its work.

"We have 41 officers and 118 non-commissioned officers and privates in custom service who have not been reporting for work in their various duty stations for a long time," Mr Madut told Xinhua news agency in Juba late December.

The official added that fighting and increased attacks along Equatoria, one of the country's state, highways slowed the national monthly revenue collection to about $16 million monthly from $63 million.

The customs points that had to close down include Kaya, Yambio, Jale and other three mainly in the Equatoria region.

The country's main non-oil revenue currently were South Sudan’s Nimule main exit and the Juba International Airport, according to the customs official.

“The only stations that brings a lot of money is Nimule and Juba International Airport,” he noted.

He expressed hope that the restoration of peace and stability was going to fix things.

Political environment in South Sudan remains tense since rebel Riek Machar fled into exile last year after July 2016 violence but his forces are still engaging in fight with government forces in various parts of the country up-to-date. Disruptions

Although South Sudan has vast and largely untapped natural resources, it remains relatively undeveloped, characterised by a subsistence economy.

The eastern African nation is the most oil-dependent country in the world, with oil accounting for over 85 per cent of its exports, and around 60 per cent of its gross domestic product (GDP).

On current reserve estimates, oil production is expected to reduce steadily in future years and to become negligible by 2035.

Outside the oil sector, according to the World Bank, livelihoods are concentrated in low productive, unpaid agriculture and pastoralists work, accounting for around 15 per cent of GDP.

Up to 85 per cent of the working population is engaged in non-wage work, chiefly in agriculture.

The current conflict has had a significant financial impact on South Sudan with 2015/16 GDP contracting by 6.3 per cent.

With oil production disruptions and below-average agriculture production, the economy was expected to contract further in coming months.

Extreme poverty rate also increased to 65.9 per cent at a time when export revenues decreased due to declining oil prices and lower oil production.

In June, the International Monetary Fund urged oil rich but yet impoverished South Sudan to build the non-oil revenue sector in order to cushion the oil dominated economy from shocks.