Day: February 16, 2023

The Mayor of Juba City Council (JCC) has accused foreign businessmen, especially those who distribute water in tankers to city suburbs, of sabotaging and circumventing the rules and regulations laid out by city authorities.

Michael Ladu Allah-Jabu`s comment follows a strike by drivers of water tankers to protest what they termed exorbitant charges by the JCC to inspect their trucks.

Addressing the media on Wednesday, Ladu said he is surprised by the actions of the foreign water suppliers, especially the Eritrean nationals, who he said have abused the good nature of the JCC and national government.

“It is the first time I am seeing this happen in the world that a foreign business community can go on strike, can demonstration, and have a hidden agenda against the policies of the government,” he said. “With all the good gestures we are providing, they do not understand what we are doing for them or maybe they have a hidden agenda of what they want to do in this country.”

The mayor revealed that the JCC simply wants to conduct regular inspections of water tankers and the people who operate them to make sure they are clean and healthy.

“This happened when we at JCC wanted to carry out our normal ordinary inspection process. It is known by everybody that in our policy we inspect water tankers every 6 months,” he said. “We have to inspect the water tankers to ensure that they are clean from the inside and to ensure that the pipes that are used for pumping the water are clean.”

Mayor Ladu further faulted foreign businessmen for lacking any corporate social responsibility programs to improve the local communities, the economy, or the environment.

“I did not one day get any support from our foreign communities doing business in Juba City Council and yet they are working underground to destroy our social fabric, especially in the field of regulation, functions, and roles,” he charged. “They are working underground to spoil our policies and that is why they are ignoring our authority and then they run to other levels of government which have no responsibility in overseeing these particular roles.”

Source: Radio Tamazuj

The National Chamber of Commerce has accused the Juba Electricity Distribution Company (JEDCO) of charging excessive power tariffs that have frustrated the growth of local manufacturing.

Speaking during the third Made in South Sudan Trade Fair in Juba on Tuesday, Ladu Lukak, the acting chairperson of the Chamber said the cost of electricity in South Sudan is the highest in the world.

“Some of us in the private sector can manufacture products like cooking oil, flour, soap, biscuits, handkerchiefs, etc. here but we have a problem with electricity. This electricity has now become like the dollar because the most expensive electricity tariffs are in South Sudan and yet no one is questioning the person supplying the electricity,” he charged, to a standing ovation. “We know that the government provided oil money for this electricity so why should it be left to that person to overcharge us? When you buy electricity worth SSP 10,000, they make deductions of 2,500 in charges. Where does this happen?”

He added: “The electric poles on the roads were paid for by the government and the African Development Bank and this person (JEDCO) just brought generators and everything has been left to him to manage, why?”

Lukak also took a swipe at the Juba City Council (JCC) for harassing traders through over-taxation, excessive fines, and levies on traders, making it difficult to do business in Juba City.

“Another thing we have a problem with a certain office who are also making business very difficult for the traders in the city. The city council has made the business community a source of survival and whenever they have a problem, they say go to the market and collect money very fast,” he said. “Today you (JCC) have charged a fine and after a week you come back saying your goods have expired yet this is supposed to be the work of the Bureau of Standards. In my office, in a month I receive over 20 cases and it has reached a level of them (JCC) locking shops. Now, once you lock a shop and something happens like rats destroying goods, who will take responsibility?”

Responding to the complaints and queries of the Chamber of Commerce chairperson, the Minister for Livestock and Fisheries, Onyoti Adigo, supported Lukak’s submission that a country cannot develop without electricity and advised that the national parliament summon the ministers of electricity and finance to shed light on the high electricity tariffs and depreciation of the local currency respectively. He also blamed citizens for not channeling complaints to the right authorities.

“We are appealing to the citizens that there is a need to air out such grievances so that the government will be able to take any measures,” he said. “The vice president of the economic cluster has to look into it and as a member of the economic cluster, I think I will be able to work on and address some of these issues.”

Adigo urged the players from the different sectors to work together in unison to address the problems the country is facing and urged the business community to seek the intervention of parliament.

“These are some of the issues that need to be addressed by parliament and they can raise them there and the minister of finance and Governor of the Central Bank should be questioned,” he said. “Also, the minister of electricity can be questioned by the parliament.”

Source: Radio Tamazuj

The reopening of the Jonglei State Legislative Assembly which was scheduled for Tuesday has been postponed due to a lack of finances, the parliament’s spokesperson said.

Speaking to Radio Tamazuj, Wany Bum, said lawmakers will remain home until the money needed for the reopening of the house is secured.

“The state assembly was not reopened on Tuesday partly because the budget that was requested for the reopening was not availed by the state finance ministry,” he said. “The reopening will be a colorful event and a lot of dignitaries will be invited so the budget is needed. The money requested is about SSP 5 Million.”

Bum said the date for the reopening of the assembly will be communicated as soon as money is availed.

However, Abel Nyuot Lok, the SPLM-IO chief whip, said any attempt to have the assembly reopened before former Speaker Amer Ateny is reinstated would be illegal and that they would boycott it.

“If the assembly was not reopened yesterday (Tuesday) because of the lack of money, that is their case. For our case, we will not be part of that reopening because the speaker was removed unilaterally,” Nyuot said. “The Conduct of Business of the Assembly, Article 7.3 Chapter 1 says no parliament business shall be transacted when the office of the speaker is vacant because there is no active speaker or delegated powers to the deputy speaker.”

On his part, Ter Manyang, the executive director of the civil society outfit, Center for Peace and Advocacy (CPA), said delays in the reopening of the state legislature is a tactic by the executive to keep the assembly paralyzed as an oversight body.

“The state has money so I think the budget is not an issue,” he said. “The removal of the speaker was nonprocedural so the presidency should have a meeting on the issue because the assembly should be operating normally as citizens expect.”

Source: Radio Tamazuj