Africa-Press – South-Sudan. East Africa GO-GREEN, a garbage collection company contracted by Juba City Council – ostensibly, to ‘keep Juba clean’ has been dragged to court, a legal battle that could worsen Juba’s garbage burden.
The legal wrangling could result in Go-Green losing some of its SSP2.1 billion investment in Juba City’s garbage collection business. This is despite the fact that Juba residents are waiting for a potential explosive garbage menace that could chock city residents.
On January 2022, Juba City Council announced that they had entered into a deal with Go-Green Company to collect garbage in Juba.
The deal, whose details remain scanty until a business deal gone bad exposed the clandestine underhanded dealings, was a ten-year contract signed between Mayor Michael Allah Jabu’s administration and Go-Green. But on the peripheries was Simon Trading Company, the ‘venture capital’ firm that allegedly procured the former’s 26 garbage trucks to be used to collect trash across the city.
In both deals, Go-Green was to have a workable revenue-sharing formula with both Juba City Council and Simon Trading Company.
According to the agreement, Simon Trading claimed that they were to receive 35 percent of their daily revenue collection, from Go-Green; while the City Council was to get 30 percent. Additionally, Go-Green was to hand over its equipment, including the trucks, to the Juba City Council following the expiry of the ten-year contract.
That sounded like a sweet deal for Allah Jabu. The only problem was that the properties that he was promised did not belong to Go-Green.
The 26 trucks, two containers now lying on the compound of Go-Green, and the garbage bins spread across the city, were allegedly purchased by part of the $2.6 million (SSP2.1 billion) advanced to Go-Green b Simon Trading Company.
Simon Trading now claims that Go-Green has failed to honour the deal, forcing it to go to court.
“You are hereby directed by this court to have the below properties until the court issues its final decision on the case (civil suit no. 20/2023), to keep the properties within the jurisdiction of the court,” read a Kator Payam Court order obtained by City Review.
A court order was then issued to have the properties of Go-Green confiscated until the matter is settled.
“Go Green Company is supposed to return the amount of $2.6 million to Simon Trading Company for the trucks, and cleaning supplies that were purchased for them,” Victor stated.
“It was also agreed that Go Green would pay 35% of the daily revenue to Simon Trading Company, but they did not abide by this agreement. It has refused to pay.”
Godfrey Victor, a lawyer representing Simon Trading Company, said that his client only received the payment on four times before they were blocked from accessing the details of daily revenue collected by Go-Green.
While this is playing out, and with Juba City choking in the garbage, Mayor Allah Jabu tried to intervene to have the matter settled outside the court.
“I will not accept the closure of a company that provides essential services to the citizen,” said Allah Jabu.
But Simon Trading, through their lawyer is now accusing Allah Jabu of trying to interfere with a court order.
“The mayor of Juba has violated the law, so I appeal to the government to remove him because he violated the constitution of South Sudan,” Victor stressed.
Jabu denied these allegations. “I have never heard of the disputes between Simon Trading Company and Go Green Company before, except after the attempt to close down the headquarters of Go Green Company.”
Source: The City Review South Sudan
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