By Awan Achiek
It’s now a week since Ugandan and Kenyan truck drivers refused to transport cargo including food to South Sudan citing insecurity along major highways connecting to the capital Juba.
A civil society organization says it’s concerned that if the insecurity issue is not addressed; a food crisis could result in the world’s newest nation.
Jame David Kolok, Executive Director for Foundation for Democracy and Accountable Governance said “It will have negative consequences not only on the commodities food prices, but it will create scarcity for basics necessities in the country. Food prices will most definitely increase but also prices of non-food items like fuel and building materials will soar,”
Kolok said, as long as the parties to the revitalized transitional government of national unity doesn’t find ways to fully implement the provisions of the agreement, the country will continue to face challenges.
“Ugandans and Kenyans will always decide to go or not to go and we don’t have powers over them and I think they have the right because their people have been killed and they have the right to pressure the government to improve security,” Kolok added.
The activist acknowledged that the instability in the country is greatly affecting South Sudanese in many fronts, adding that achieving durable peace is the only solution to the current mayhem.
As of Thursday, about 3,000 trucks have been packed at Elegu at the Ugandan border with South Sudan.
The truck drivers are protesting the recent killings of their colleagues along Juba-Nimule and Juba-Yei roads.
Last week, gunmen ambushed trucks at Kit 2 area along Juba-Nimule road killing five people that followed another ambushed in march in which nine people were killed majority of whom were truck drivers. That ambush was at Ganji along Juba-Yei road.
The government has blamed the National Salvation Front (NAS) led by General Thomas Cirilo for the attacks an accusation NAS has denied.
Santo Domic Chol, Deputy Spokesperson for South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF), said the army would deploy forces along Juba-Nimule and Juba-Yei road, which are the lifeline of the country.
The warning from the civil society comes a day after a leading economist warned that the current increase in the level of insecurity along major highways across South Sudan will result in rise in commodity prices and it will negatively affect residents.
Abraham Matoch an Economist and Vice Chancellor of Dr. John Garang Memorial University of Science and Technology said if cargo trucks don’t come in the next few days, prices of goods will increase.
“On the economic point of view, the international trade or regional trade as we can call it will be affected negatively and it will create a situation whereby prices of goods that are already in Juba or elsewhere in South Sudan may triple because there will be shortage of commodities in the market and the few traders or business people who will still have commodities will want to exploit the situation and increase prices.” Said Abraham Matoch
He said the drivers couldn’t be blamed because they fear for their lives.
Abraham Matoch said,“It has become an insecurity issue. If such a situation continues, the government will have to protect the people, by ensuring that cars move in a convoy to South Sudan and that it provides military escorts for the convoy.”
The International Committee of the Red Cross said last month that food production in South Sudan declined due to the combined impact of conflict and natural disaster.
It said unrelenting heavy rains last year resulted in extreme flooding adding that some crops were entirely washed away in the eastern and northern parts of the country.
More than a million people have been displaced due to flooding.
The ICRC says tens of thousands of families are now struggling for survival.
