Kampala City Traders Association-KACITA is threatening to stage a demonstration to protest the failure by the South Sudan government to pay its members for the goods and services offered to government.
The threats stem from claims by Pieng Deng Kuol, the South Sudan Inspector General of Police that his government is unable to pay the Ugandan businessmen because of budgetary deficits. Kuol made the revelation on Tuesday in Gulu town shortly after holding a security meeting with Kale Kayihura, the Inspector of Police.
He explained that the South Sudan has adopted austerity measures because of the hard economic situation that it’s going through and as a result cannot pay individuals who supplied goods to government agencies.
Kuol saidthe affected traders should understand that South Sudan is just an evolving nation which is faced with several challenges. However, utterances of Gen Deng Kuol have not gone down well with Ugandan traders. Issa Ssekito the Spokesperson Kampala City Traders Association says they have started mobilizing traders to stage a demonstration to compel the South Sudan government to fulfill its obligation by paying for the goods that it obtained.
Ssekito says the South Sudan government owes Ugandan traders up to a tune of US$ 40 Million for goods it obtained on credit. Ssekito says he was part of the team that investigated the claims by Ugandan traders and they handed over their report to the Ministry of Trade and Cooperatives for action.
He says when they made a follow up the South Sudan government started giving excuses that they would pay the money after resolving the dispute that they had with the north.
Ssekito says they will be forced to block South Sudanese traders from doing business in Uganda as part of the protest to highlight the plight of Ugandan traders who have lost merchandise in their country.
But Lt. Gen. Kale Kayihura, the Inspector General Police told URN in Gulu that not the claimants are genuine. He claimed that some unscrupulous traders are trying to cheat the Sudanese by making false claims. Kayihura said the Ministry of Trade will soon release the list of genuine claimants.