Authorities of Mayom County of Unity state in South Sudan have prevented Sudanese traders from ownership of commercial sites in the town. They are instead charging shop owners for renting space in the market.  

“The authorities refused to allocate lands for us under the pretext that we are foreigners,” a trader told Radio Tamazuj from Mayom County. He explained that the authorities asked them to rent until a final deal is reached on the ‘Four Freedoms’, which are part of the signed matrix between South Sudan government and its counterpart in Khartoum.

The Four Freedoms refer to the freedom of residence, freedom of movement, freedom to undertake economic activity and freedom to acquire and dispose of property.

Shops owners claim that local authorities have imposed on them exorbitant fees of rent in addition to taxes and levies. They urged county authorities to intervene in order to reduce the rent fees. They also called for the government to renovate roads and bridges before the onset of the rainy season to ease the movement of goods.

“I am calling upon the local authorities in Mayom or the commissioner to fix acceptable prices for renting. For instance, if the first block is for 400 or 500 SSP then the second block which is a bit smaller should be for 350 or 300 SSP – it will be fine with us,” said the trader who preferred anonymity.

The trader explained that normal citizens would benefit from a reduction of fees. A piece of soap, for example, now charged at 2 pounds, will be reduced when the charges on the trader are not high.