The residents of Kajo-keji County in South Sudan's Central Equatoria State are complaining of a sharp rise in the prices of consumer goods in the market.
Inyani Joseph Franko, Kajo-keji County Chamber of Commerce chairperson told Radio Tamazuj that no goods are coming to Kajo-keji due to bad roads within the county and those connecting the county with other counties.
He said the roads have been made worse and inaccessible by the recent heavy rains, leading to a rise in the prices of the available goods.
"These days, we don’t get goods from Juba because the road is totally bad and the only vehicles that can pass here are the land cruisers and they might even take up to three days to reach the town," he lamented.
Joseph appeals to the government to rehabilitate the roads to ease the supply of goods and reduce market prices in the county.
"My appeal is that the government should put an effort to at least repair the roads even if not to the standard, but to work on those culverts and the dangerous potholes so that as business people we would have access to Juba. That alone will bring the prices to come down in the county," Joseph appealed.
Lucy Kiden a resident of Kajo-keji emphasizes the importance of road repairs.
"We found that in the market the prices of commodities are high, because of the bad roads that make the movement of vehicles and motorcycles difficult. We are urging the government to at least if possible work on the roads connecting to and from Kajo-keji, it will be of great benefit to us," Kiden said.
Meanwhile Kenyi Emmanuel another consumer calls for the government’s intervention so that prices can reduce in the county
"We go to the market because we want to buy flour, prices of goods are so high because of the bad roads full of water and vehicles get stuck on the way. That is why we are calling upon the government if there is a way of working on our roads so that the commodity prices in the market can come down," he appealed.
Efforts to reach the state ministry of roads and bridges were unsuccessful.