President Salva Kiir made Salvatore Garang Mabiodir, a former undersecretary in the finance ministry, the head of the department following the sacking of finance minister Stephen Dhieu Dau on Tuesday, African media reported.

"We have lost the value of our currency... this is a challenge that is ahead of you and you must see very hard how to get out of this," Kiir told Garang Mabiodir at his swearing-in ceremony.

Garang Mabiodir will be the fifth finance minister since the oil-rich nation achieved independence in 2011.

The civil war broke out more than four years ago and the government is said to be “broke”, according to experts and media reports.

At the start of the conflict in 2013, the US dollar was worth five South Sudanese pounds, but today is the equivalent to 240 South Sudanese pounds.

The country has also battled with the drop in oil prices, which has severely affected its economy. South Sudan is one of the most oil-dependent countries in the world.