The Network for Civil Society Organizations in Western Equatoria State has said the multiplicity of checkpoints along the Juba -Yambio road has led to the skyrocketing of prices of essential goods in the State.
According to Wanga Emmanuel, the network’s chairperson, they registered 17 roadblocks from Yambio to Jambo within the state, only two of which are checkpoints where goods are verified and taxed. He said the rest of the just collect money from truckers.
“The road from Yambio to Jambo has 17 roadblocks and from Yambio to Juba has 23 roadblocks. At every roadblock, a trader must pay, apart from double taxation,” he said. “In Jambo, traders are taxed, in Bazungua they are also taxed, and again in the markets, traders are also taxed. So, this suffering, high inflation, and high prices are caused by us.”
According to Wanga, if multiple roadblocks are removed, farmers can transport their produce to Juba and earn money leading to a reduction in poverty.
He said the security personnel who man the roadblocks claim they were deployed by senior government officials.
“We have even consulted with the police and they denied being behind this,” he added. “The heads of the organized forces are saying it is not their role but the executives that give the authority to create more roadblocks. So, all the organized forces have distanced themselves”. He added
Meanwhile, a cross-section of traders in Yambio’s main market also said that multiple roadblocks along the Juba-Yambio road greatly contribute to high commodity prices and runaway inflation.
A trader who only identified himself as Mabu said after they pay both legitimate and illegitimate taxes, they transfer the burden to the consumers.
“When we arrive in Yambio, we add the price on those goods so that we can get back the money collected at those roadblocks so that our business does not collapse,” he revealed. “Those officers charge differently, others charged SSP 5,000 while others ask for 10,000 or even 25,000 or more.”
Mabu appealed to the authorities to reduce the number of roadblocks so that commodity prices could drop.
Another trader, George Emmanuel, echoed Mabu’s call and urged the state government to remove illegal checkpoints. He said there should be only two legal checkpoints when exiting Central Equatoria and when entering Western Equatoria State.
“The money we pay at all those roadblocks is too much and that is why we hike prices,” he said.