Dinars, Pounds, Shillings, US Dollars?

A country with a confused currency system is likely to be unstable and underdeveloped.

Thinking about the money here just gives me a headache! Here is what I have come to understand about the currency following many long and painful conversations with shopkeepers...

- There used to be an old Sudanese pound. The exchange rate (to USD) used to be about 2000 to 1.
- Then they changed to Sudanese Dinar. The exchange rate is about 200 to 1.
- Now they introduced a new Sudanese pound which is at the ex change rate of about 2 to 1.

The Sudanese Dinar and the New Sudanese pound are both currently in circulation, and on top of that people still give you prices in old Sudanese pounds with millions of zeros to completely confuse you.

Right now people are waiting in line to trade in their Sudanese Dinars for the new Sudanese Pounds in order to only have one currency, but who knows how long that will take?
And of course money is a political thing... The old Dinar has Islamic symbols as the water mark while the new Sudanese Pound is deliberately neutral (with an eagle).

When you are close to the border with Kenya everyone wants Kenyan shillings, and when you are close to the border with Uganda they want Ugandan shillings. It's probably the same when you approach the Ethiopian border but I haven't made it there yet.

And here in South Sudan, US Dollars expire! Who knew that there was an expiration date on money, like on milk? Ok, they are probably right, dollars more than a few years old are easier to counterfeit, but it makes me laugh when they tell you that you have "expired money" and refuse it.

Essentially in order to be able to make purchases in this part of Sudan you should have Sudanese Dinars, Sudanese Pounds, Kenyan Shillings, Ugandan Shillings, non expired US Dollars, ( and a calculator!) with you at all times.

This is not Paris, New York, or Tokyo!

Spending time in Juba makes me feel nauseous. It’s not only the huge piles of trash covering almost every inch of the town and the putrid smell that comes after it rains, it’s also the fact that the capital of South Sudan is also one of the most expensive places in the world. Having to pay 150-200 dollars a night to sleep in a tent is ridiculous! A tent! Imagine! 20 dollars for cold chicken and chips that you have to wait two hours for? Where do these businesses think this is? And the ones who are going to end up suffering are the local community in Juba. None of the money stays in Sudan, all the millions of dollars that the people are having to spend on these crazy prices are leaving the country with nothing if the businesses were to close up shop. For the price that they are charging to sleep in a tent many new buildings could be put up and actually give something tangible to the community after the aid agencies decide that South Sudan is not the hot spot to work in anymore. All of the money spent by NGOs and the UN on housing and food could be spent on programs that actually help people. As aid agencies continue to pay these prices because ‘my organization is paying for it and not me’, the vicious circle of overcharging continues. So please Juba, lower your prices! For the future of development in Sudan.