Africa-Press – Uganda. Business at the Elegu border in Elegu Town Council, Amuru District, yesterday returned to normal after truck drivers called off their strike.
On Monday, hundreds of truck drivers at the border commenced a strike over allegations of extortion by the South Sudan authorities and security forces.
The Daily Monitor established that more than 600 truck drivers camped at the BLD parking lot and on the streets of the town, less than a kilometre from the border crossing.
The strike was called off on Tuesday evening after security operatives told the truck drivers to choose between vacating the area or letting their perishable goods get spoilt
In an interview with Daily Monitor yesterday, Mr Hakim Kibirige, a truck driver, said: “There was pressure among us. Many drivers whose trucks were locked up in the parking lot feared that the goods in their trucks would go bad so security forced us to make a tough choice.”
The strike started at around midday on Monday, paralysing business at Uganda Revenue Authority’s clearance unit for nearly two hours.
It resulted in a standoff between the truck drivers and security forces who ordered them to clear the area for other travellers. This, however, did not affect the clearance of trucks from South Sudan into Uganda.
Drivers who spoke to the Daily Monitor said there was an increase in detentions and attacks on truck drivers who failed to pay bribes to South Sudanese authorities.
The truck drivers also accused South Sudan security operatives of demanding more than $250,000 for the release of detained truck drivers and that the same forces were demanding bribes of about KShs8,000 (Shs236,000) from every truck they cleared.
Mr Richard Baluki, another driver, said: “The strike is not over yet, our leadership have arrived on the ground to engage with South Sudanese authorities over our petition, and if these concerns are not conclusively addressed, we are resuming any time.”
Mr Stephen Odong Latek, the Amuru Resident District Commissioner, said the strike was a security concern since not all drivers agreed to it.
“On Monday, we intercepted three of the truck drivers for acting contrary to the rights of their colleagues and they also acted contrary to the reasons for the strike,” Mr Latek said.
He added that yesterday afternoon the officials from URA’s Customs Department, South Sudan and Ugandan security agencies met to discuss the strike and agreed on several terms to improve the working environment of the truck drivers.
“We agreed to increase surveillance along the Uganda-South Sudan border and border points between Uganda and South Sudan,” he said.
Mr Latek said they also agreed to extend the exit time for trucks out of South Sudan from 4pm to 7pm as well as sharing information between Uganda and South Sudan on matters to do with customs.
The drivers were also directed to only deal with the official agents of immigration and customs and report to the authorities illegal acts committed by the South Sudan customs authorities.
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