Africa-Press – South-Sudan. The Chief of Defense Force of South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF) Lt. Gen. Paul Nang Majok has ordered the immediate removal of all checkpoints along the White Nile river from Central Equatoria up to Upper Nile.
CDF Gen. Nang has directed SSPDF Commander of Ground Forces Lt. Gen. Theyip Gatluak and Assistant Chief of Defense Force for Disarmament and Mobilization Gen. Johnson Olony to promptly commence the removal of all checkpoints along the Nile.
The checkpoints removal will start from Juba County in Central Equatoria all the way to Malakal County in Upper Nile, according to the order availed to the media by SSPDF Spokesperson Maj. Gen. Lul Ruai Koang.
“The operation is aimed at increasing the volume of trade and widening scope of commercial activities, permanently eliminating unnecessary and unauthorized tax and levies, ease and enhance effective river transportation.”
The order also indicated that the Chief of Military Intelligence Lt. Gen. Marshall Stephen will “diligently and effectively” supervise execution of the operation.
A researcher from the Danish Institute for International Studies found in a 2021 publication that illegal checkpoints taxes in South Sudan were the most expensive in the world.
Since independence in 2011, the number of checkpoints has nearly doubled and checkpoint taxes have increased by 300%, the study found, adding that these ‘transit taxes’ are mostly illegal.
For two years, the study mapped 319 checkpoints along major trade routes in South Sudan, of which 253 (79%) are roadblocks and 66 (21%) river checkpoints.
In December 2024, delegates to the 8th Governors Forum resolved numerous communiques including calling on the national government to remove illegal road blocks and ban illegal taxes to boost the economy.
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