Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir has announced that he will introduce economic austerity measures following South Sudan's secession. Most of Sudan's oil lay in the south and the two countries have not agreed how to divide future oil revenues. The president told MPs that a three-year "emergency programme" would also include issuing a new currency. He also promised a more open society where people would be free to express political views without fear of arrest. "Our government is keen not to curb freedom of speech. No-one from today will be arrested for expressing his political views," the president said in his speech to parliament in the capital, Khartoum. Consultations on a new constitution - a key opposition demand - would also begin soon, he said. According to Reuters news agency, Sudan has been hit by a scarcity of foreign currency and high inflation. "We have placed an emergency programme for the next three years," Mr Bashir said. "The package of the economic measures includes issuing a new currency in the coming days," he said. South Sudan announced it was launching its own currency and the South Sudan pound note would be in circulation by next Monday. The new country's Central Bank Governor Elijah Malok told Reuters it would take three months to completely replace the northern currency. The south's independence follows decades of conflict with the north in which some 1.5 million people died. The two countries have still to decide on issues such as drawing up the new border and how to divide Sudan's debts and oil wealth. At present, the revenues are still shared equally. Although most oil lies in the south, most of the oil pipelines flow north to Port Sudan on the Red Sea. Source: BBC