Northern Bahr el-Ghazal state government officials in Aweil town have denied knowledge of the arrest of citizens for non-payment of a state-level household tax. 

Media outlets circulated over the weekend reports that citizens from counties throughout the state were allegedly jailed for failing to pay household taxes.

Speaking to Radio Tamazuj, the state ministers of finance and local government, Santino Deng and Adup Lino, both denied any knowledge of this.

“I do not have any idea about this arrest,” claimed Deng, before adding that the government collects taxes in exchange for the provision services such as security, health and school construction.

He claimed that the national government allocates only a small portion to the states, the majority of which is used for paying staff salaries.  The state’s need to provide other services is what, he claims, necessitates tax collection at the state level.

“When you collect tax from someone it is for exchange of service. Providing security is part of services. Other services we have hospitals, schools, roads, we prepare markets and provide water to areas where there is no water,” Deng claimed.

However, the minister added that there would be a valid punishment for failure to pay.

“The tax is 30 pounds. In the law, if someone fails to pay you do not jail them. No law permits you to jail someone who did not pay. The punishment is that you take from them a simple thing like a hen for example, you keep it for two weeks (and) if they do not pay, it is taken for auction and sold in the market. And if it brings more money than demanded, the balance shall be returned to the owner,” the minister explained.

“Something like this did not reach me,” claimed Lino on the subject of imprisonment. The minister for local government confirmed that a household tax law was passed earlier this year.  However he was not able to detail where in state legislation the law was outlined.

The Sudan Tribune reported last Sunday that 150 citizens were arrested from throughout the state for not paying the household taxes. Santino Deng the state finance minister was quoted by the Sudan Tribune on Monday to have neither agreed nor denied the arrest matter:

"Investigation to establish facts about these allegations will be established through appropriate administrative channels”, he said, neither denying nor confirming the arrests of mainly women and the elderly.

“I want to make clarification on two issues in the [Sudan Tribune] article. One thing I want to know is the connection of the taxes and the arrest. What is the connection of the ministry in the arrest here? I did not say 150 have been arrested. This part is being misunderstood,” the minister stressed.

Sources on the ground (including relatives of the victims) have so far declined to speak to the media on the matter.

Radio Tamazuj attempted to reach to the state Police commissioner and Aweil East county commissioner but were unable to obtain a response on this issue.

Map: Northern Bahr el-Ghazal (Wikipedia)

Related: N. Bahr el Ghazal arrests over 150 people over household tax (21 April 2013, Sudan Tribune)