Kenyan scholar Mwangi Kimenyi yesterday lashed out at the South Sudanese government for a decree imposing restrictions on foreign labour, which he termed ‘clearly stupid’ and likely to result in economic damage.

Kimenyi, an economist at the Brookings Institution, a think-tank in Washington, DC, wrote yesterday on the website of the institution, “The decision by the government is clearly a stupid one. It lacks any sound basis, and it runs counter to any informed and developmental-minded leadership.”

He went on to compare the South Sudanese Labour Ministry's recent decree to the expulsion of foreigners from Uganda by dictator Idi Amin.

“The consequences of such actions—namely the collapse of the Ugandan private sector—are well-known, and it is quite surprising that a struggling economy would take actions that accelerate the downward spiral of economic growth and human development.”

“Again, I say this is quite stupid on the part of the South Sudanese government,” reiterated Kimenyi.

The economist went on to say that South Sudan faces a “dire scarcity of medical personnel, teachers, engineers, agriculturalists, private sector managers, and indeed workers in all sectors.”

“The country needs all the support it can get to build human capacity. The action by the government will have the immediate effect of undermining the prospects for foreign investment.”

According to the Kenyan economist, the environment for doing business in South Sudan is “very poor.”

He further called on other African governments to speak out against the move because “they have broader implications for the region.”

Kimenyi heads the Africa Growth Initiative at the Brookings Institution and serves as advisory board member of the School of Economics, University of Nairobi. He was founding executive director of the Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis.

The South Sudanese government explained in the decree issued by the Labour Minister that the purpose of the move was to “protect the rights and interests of the people of South Sudan.”

The decree lists positions in foreign companies and aid organizations from receptionist to executive director that it says should no longer be filled by foreigners and instead must be advertised to qualified South Sudanese nationals.

Link: 

Folly of South Sudan leadership all but guarantees total state failure, by Mwangi S. Kimenyi