The government of South Sudan’s Jonglei State through its revenue authority office has ventured into fish business by controlling the transportation of fish from the main islands of the River Nile and sells them at reduced prices in Bor town.
The decision comes after individual businessmen and women raised the prices of fish at the market in Bor town.
A source told Radio Tamazuj that a boat loaded with 2,000 fish had arrived in Bor town on Wednesday and a large number of local residents were invited to buy at reasonable prices.
He further said the state government plans to make a profit of 12 million SSP every year from the project.
According to the state revenue authority, a kilogram of fish would be sold at 150 SSP and a single buyer is entitled to buy at least 5 kilograms.
But a woman dealing in the business said that the decision taken by the state government to venture into fish business will affect their work.
For his part, Minister of Information in Jonglei, Jacob Akech Dengdit who accompanied the state governor to the site, said the plan was to reduce the prices of fish so that any citizen can buy.
Meanwhile, Director of Fishery in Jonglei, James Majok Maper, said the scheme was to assist vulnerable families financially to buy fish at reasonable prices.
“The condition nowadays, fish has become expensive, so we hope after the implementation of this project the prices will drop a bit and that is the aim of this,” he said.
“We are not allowing anybody to get more than the family feeding. It is only the restaurants and hotels that can buy reasonable things. We don’t want somebody to go and sell again,” he added.
Nyandeng Chol, a consumer in Bor, urged the state government to reduce the price of one kilogram of fish from 150 SSP to 70 SSP.
Abraham Mayola, another consumer, applauded the state government’s effort, while appealing to the relevant authorities to reduce the prices from 150 SSP to 70 SSP or less than that so local residents can afford.
A female fish retailer in Bor said the government plans to monopolize the market.
South Sudan has fish in abundance. The country’s water is home to a wide range of fish, including the popular Nile Perch, Tilapia, the Cat- and Mudfish.
However, fishing is not as widespread as it could be, as many communities focus on their cattle while fishing is often disparaged.