South Sudan's English Daily Newspaper
"We Dare where others fear"

By Awan Achiek
A dispute over which currency should be used to pay taxes has left thousands of goods worth billions of South Sudan Pounds stranded at the Port of Mombasa in Kenya.
Importers prefer to pay taxes in South Sudan Pounds after the South Sudan Revenue Authority (SSRA) urged them to pay in U.S dollars.
Eng. Mayen Deng Alier, Chairperson of the Transitional National Legislative Assembly Standing Specialized Committee on Trade and Industry, said on Thursday that importers prefer to pay in South Sudan Pounds rather than dollars due to currency floating.
“Well, one thing that is there is that the business community reacted positively to almost everything that was stipulated in the financial act, except the issue of the currency relation, which was meant to be floating,” Deng told journalists at a press conference in Juba.
“So, you can come to the bank, and they tell you the rate now is 400. You go outside and come back after five minutes; you are told the rate has gone to 450. So, they said no,” he added.
Deng said that although Financial Act 2024-2025 was designed to help salvage the economy, it has been met with a lot of confusion and resistance from the business community and consumers.
“This has resulted in a number of consignments being stagnant in Mombasa and Nimule, and a number of fuel marketers and traders are refusing to commit their resources to investing in the refined fuel market in South Sudan,” he said.
Deng disclosed that the situation has created unnecessary speculation in the market, forcing traders to raise prices in anticipation of the worst scenario.
“Our economy is in its worst state ever, in the light of a serious collapse, if no urgent measures are devised to salvage it,” said Deng.
Deng disclosed that a number of trading agents and businessmen are complaining about taxes being imposed on imported food commodities, noting that there are levies being illegally charged that are not stipulated in the Financial Act.
“There is a serious disparity between the theoretical and practical implementation of the Financial Act 2024-2025, and this can be attributed to lack of ownership of the trade functions by the National Ministry of Trade and Industry,” he said.
Deng said some of these charges were duplicated, and others are being charged twice by different institutions.