South Sudan’s government has, according to reports, suspended the use of the US dollar and instead directed all transactions be executed in the local currency, the South Sudanese pound (SSP).

It is reported that the directive is one of the measures recommended by a committee appointed by President Salva Kiir to help address the country’s economic crisis.

Most transactions in the country are carried out using the US dollar, largely due to hyperinflation and the volatility of the local currency. But the Bank of South Sudan has banned the use of the greenback and directed that all commercial contracts be signed in the local currency.

"That is a clear directive from the Central Bank that all the transactions in South Sudan must be done in our currency. So all commercial contracts must be signed in our local currency,” Michael Makuei Lueth, South Sudanese Information minister, said through the Chinese state-run English-language news channel CGTN.