River transport in northern Upper Nile has ground to a halt owing to a tax dispute between a shipping company and authorities at Renk port.

The Renk County taxation authorities stepped up a long-standing dispute with the transportation companies by announcing the stoppage of all river trips from Renk to the neighbouring regions.

Chol Gai, the Renk taxation director, told Radio Tamazuj that the Nile Company which is operating between Renk and the rest of state did not fulfill its pledges towards the provincial taxation authorities, failing to clear their financial dues.

He revealed that the taxation authorities are demanding an amount of 700,000 SSP from the Nile Company. “We stopped river transportation and we considered the issue as a kind of criminal activity as we know that these companies receive a huge amount of dollars from the donors but they do not want to pay taxes,” Gai explained.

Meanwhile, returnees trapped in Renk awaiting onward transportation for their part side voiced their fears of prolonging the period of their stay. They requested authorities concerned and organizations to intervene in order to resolve this problem.

Photo: Barges loaded with possessions of returnees in Renk, Upper Nile (UK Embassy)

Related: Renk businessmen say river trade overtaxed (3 November 2012)