Juba, South Sudan,
July 26, 2021 – It has been more than one month since the government of Uganda re-imposed lockdown amid the alarming spread of the covid-19 delta variant.
The negative economic impact of the 42-day lockdown was foreseen on low-income household Ugandans.
But like it was the case in the first round of lockdown, South Sudanese bordering Uganda in Nimule Town are also feeling the pinch; the food stores are running dry.
The government of Uganda has tripled the tax on goods exported to South Sudan and residents in the Nimule town council in Eastern Equatoria State say the situation has made life difficult and pushed many on the verge of starvation as financial budgets wither.
A resident from the border, Gale Joyce lamented that basic commodities have become very expensive as traders seek to capitalize on losses incurred on taxation.
“Life is very difficult, even the few available items are now very expensive because things are brought from Uganda and they are highly taxed before reaching the market,” Gale was quoted by Radio Tamazuj to have said.
Compared to the pre-lockdown period, Gale said life faired generally well before it got harder.
“So, now life is getting harder and even money is scarce in people’s hands. Before the border was closed, life was a bit good, if one has some small Uganda shillings you just cross and buy what you want”.
Henry Inyani, another resident in Nimule, bemoaned the restrictions tightened by the Ugandan authority saying goods were expensive and delivered out of the normal schedules.
“People normally go and buy food items but for you to reach Nimule you need to pay the security agents and so on. We have been affected in the sense that getting access to the route becomes a problem. At the end of the day, getting goods as soon as possible becomes a problem and it requires a lot of money,” the resident said.
Michael Abuni, the chairperson of the Nimule Chamber of Commerce confirmed the challenge facing the community and said the government previously lobbied for tax reduction on exports but this has not yielded any positive effect.
Earlier this month, the government of South Sudan confirmed a new case of the COVID-19 delta variant infection sparking fear that restrictions on movement could get even stricter.
