Baraka John – Local traders in Yambio are sounding the alarm over what they describe as an unauthorized and crippling tax regime, which they say is driving many businesses into collapse and threatening the town’s commercial lifeline.
At the forefront of the protest is Victor Elisa Babu, Chairperson of the Yambio County Chamber of Commerce, who decried the abrupt implementation of a new tax policy without consultation or legislative approval.
“The current tax schedule was not passed by the State Assembly. It’s something entirely different, and it’s having a devastating effect on traders,” Babu said. “We are appealing to the government to revisit and amend the policy before more businesses go under.”
Previously, Yambio’s market operated under a structured, collaborative tax system with charges based on quantity or weight, such as per-kilogram fees. That system was developed through coordination between the Council of Ministers, the State Assembly, and local business leaders.
But under the new model, a blanket 20% levy on the total value of goods has been introduced, a significant departure from the previous system and one that many say is both unsustainable and unlawful.
As a result, several traders have shut down operations or drastically reduced inventory. Some have shifted to subsistence farming, while others especially foreign traders have exited the market altogether, citing unworkable conditions.
Adding to the frustration are informal verification fees allegedly levied by local customs agents in Yambio, even on goods already cleared at the Nimule border, South Sudan’s main trade entry point from Uganda.
Wanga Emmanuel, Chairperson of the Network for Civil Society in Western Equatoria, echoed the traders’ concerns, warning that poorly thought-out taxation policies could have dire consequences.
“Taxation must be based on the income capacity of citizens,” he said. “If taxes are imposed arbitrarily, it leads to inflation, market distortion, and the collapse of small businesses, exactly what we’re witnessing now.” added Emmanuel.
Wanga stressed that while taxation is vital for development, it must be guided by data and applied with fairness and transparency.
Hon. Clement Gongi, Chairperson of the Economic Cluster in the Western Equatoria State Transitional Legislative Assembly, acknowledged the confusion and called for urgent reform. He confirmed that the last officially approved tax schedule was for 2021–2022.
“Since then, no new budget has been presented to the parliament for approval. So what’s happening now is outside the law,” Gongi said. “There’s a clear gap; the tax rates being enforced are not those in the approved schedule, and it’s unclear who authorized them.”
He attributed the problem to the long recess of the State Assembly, which allowed the state’s executive wing, particularly the Revenue Authority, to implement new tax rates without oversight.
Now that the Assembly is back in session, Gongi pledged that lawmakers will work to restore accountability, revise current tax frameworks, and ensure that future fiscal policies follow proper legislative procedures.
Efforts to obtain comment from the Western Equatoria State Minister of Finance and the Commissioner of the Revenue Authority were unsuccessful at the time of publication.
This story is reported with a grant from Journalists for Human Rights under the Tackling mis/Disinformation Project funded by the Peace and Stabilisation program of the Government of Canada