Police in Aweil town of Northern Bahr el Ghazal State said they had arrested a Sudanese bakery owner for violating an agreement he reached with the state government recently.
According to the police, state authorities gave Isahag Yahya 300 sacks of wheat at 19,500 SSP each, instead of the market price of 22,000 SSP.
As part of the agreement, the state government requested the Sudanese trader to increase the size of bread to 1.5 grams, but the latter reportedly failed to implement the agreement.
While on an official visit to the Naivasha neighbourhood of Aweil on Tuesday last week, Governor Tong Akeen Ngor ordered the arrest of the trader after seeing residents buying small loaves of bread.
He also ordered immediate shut down of Naivasha Modern Bakery.
Captain Guot Guot Akol, the state police spokesperson, told Radio Tamazuj that the Sudanese trader was arrested for failing to implement the government’s directives, despite repeated warnings.
“We arrested Isahag Yahya only, and not all bakery owners. The government, through a special committee, gave Yahya 300 sacks of wheat flour to increase the size of bread to 1.5 grams, but he failed to do so,” he said.
Gout said the trader would be tried in court.
Meanwhile, several citizens who spoke to Radio Tamazuj opposed the government’s decision to close the bakery, calling for its reopening.
Christine Adut Akeen, a resident of Naivasha, said the closure of the bakery has affected her since she cannot afford to buy sorghum to feed her children.
“The scarcity of bread has become a big problem in Naivasha since the bakery was closed,” Lual said.