President of South Sudan Salva Kiir this week launched surveillance drones and CCTV in the capital Juba, to help trace criminals.

The move follows the leader's announcement earlier in the year that a project of this kind would be rolled out in December, the Sudan Tribune reported.

South Sudan has been marred by violence since the outbreak of civil war in 2014 that killed 800,000 people. The conflict led to economic crisis for the oil-dependent economy as several foreign oil companies pulled out their investments.

At present, South Sudan's economy has barely recovered from conflict. The GDP forecast at $3.6 billion this year from $9.2 billion in 2015. The advanced-technology venture of drones worth millions of dollars is likely to attract skeptics towards President Kirr's governance as South Sudanese continue to flee the poverty-stricken nation.

More than 690,000 South Sudanese fled the country since the start of 2017, according to UNHCR, but for President Salva Kiir this is a step towards the transformation of Juba to a smart city.

"This is what I said in February 2016 in the parliament that Juba will be secure, and by introducing the program of Smart City, it will be safe for everyday residing in Juba or visiting Juba" – South Sudan President Salva Kiir

An Israeli Company is managing the project dubbed 'smart city', so far 11 cameras have been installed, 2 drones deployed around Juba. The project is expected to have 150 cameras in most parts of the capital city.

It is not yet clear if this initiative will be rolled out to other parts of South Sudan.