South Sudan's English Daily Newspaper
"We Dare where others fear"
By Simon Deng
Protests broke out on Monday in Bor town of Jonglei State over the high prices of goods that have left many households unable to afford daily basic necessities.
The Chairperson of Jonglei Civil Society Network Bol Deng Bol, told The Dawn in an interview in Bor town said that this is the second protest being held this year in the town over the high cost of living.
“It is a peaceful protest, this is the second protest over the high cost of living, there are various groups taking part in the protest including traders in the markets, civil servants and civil society groups and there are also students,” said Bol.
The protest comes amid the weak performance of the South Sudan Pound against the dollar. The SSP is exchanging at 300,000 with the dollar leading to hike in prices of essential goods and commodities in the market.
Bol disclosed that the protestors handed over a petition to the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) office in Bor, adding that a similar petition was last week submitted to the office of the Governor of Jonglei State,Mahjoub Biel Turuk.
“There are underlying issues here that are contributing to the high cost of living including insecurity, high taxes in the market and salaries for civil servants are not being paid on time, and many other things,” he said.
Bol said that citizens have pledged to continue with the protest until the prices come down despite attempts by police to foil the protest.
“The new date for the peaceful protest will be fixed, they (citizens) pledge to continue to protest until the commodity prices in the market come down,” he said.
Attempts to reach Nyamar Lony Thichot Ngundeng, the Jonglei State minister for information and communication were futile as he failed to return our calls by press time.
Jonglei State being the cradle of the liberation struggle that paved way for the independence of South Sudan in 2011 holds a special place in the hearts of many war liberators and the current protests could gauge the mood across the country.
