Police Inspector General Pieng Deng Kual has warned police officers against taking money from citizens and traders in the market.

During the opening of a new police station at Jou Market in Western Bahr El Ghazal, he called on police to be friendly to citizens, warning them over threatening traders.

Voice of Hope FM, the local Catholic radio station in Wau, reported that he also stressed that it was every trader’s right to be protected from bribery demands.

Traders in South Sudan have been under pressure because of numerous illegal taxes and extortion schemes such as roadside checkpoints run by soldiers and police, some of whom have not been paid their salaries. 

Earlier this week the Wau Mayor Arkangelo Anyar Anyar called on citizens to buy goods from local traders, emphasizing the importance of local businesses and small-scale production, Voice of Hope reported.

During the inauguration of Bagari Jedit Market in Wau on Saturday, he also called on women to take the lead in an ‘economic revolution’, saying the country should not remain dependent on foreign trade.

Trade routes

Western Bahr al Ghazal remains connected to the South Sudanese capital and trade routes from East Africa via roads through Lakes State or Western Equatoria.

The capital Wau lies at a key intersection of roads leading to Warrap, Northern Bahr el Ghazal and farther to the west. Yet general insecurity has disrupted many trade relationships and caused some key private sector actors to leave the country, while also driving up the prices of fuel.

The continuing deterioration of the economy in South Sudan is further worsened by the seasonally worsening road conditions, threats of a strike by Ugandan importers – who say the South Sudanese government owes them about $50 million – and illegal taxation. 

Towns such as Wau, lying far to the northwest of the capital Juba, can still alternatively import goods from Sudan to the north, but that supply route is also long and insecure in areas, given deteriorated security in Abyei and East Darfur.

File photo: Police training in Western Bahr al Ghazal, South Sudan (UNDP)