Jonglei hits by soaring food prices
By John Actually
June 3, 2011 (BOR) –Jonglei state is currently facing red-shift in food prices that are mainly imported from the north Sudan (Khartoum), Uganda and Kenya due to impassible roads connecting Bor to Juba and the fading relationship with Khartoum government.
Speaking to Sudan Tribune a trader at Bor docking point Friday, Mohamed Khalid, who identified himself as a Darfurian said shipping of goods from Khartoum has shot up saying northern authorities are making it harder for traders to ship goods to South Sudan.
Khalid who had been in Bor since 2004 as a trader dealing with food stuffs said it cost him a lot of money and time to load 300bags of Sorghum, 50 bags of Sugar and 3 tons of crates of soda on the ship.
Khalid has set the prices based on all overheads he incurred in the process saying a bag of sorghum is marked at 300 Sudanese Pounds, a bag of Sugar at 200 Sudanese Pounds and small bag of 25 kg of maize flour at 70Pounds.
Previously, a bag of Sorghum was 180 Sudanese Pounds; a bag of Sugar was at 140 pounds, and 25 kg of maize flour at 25 Pounds.
The prices of food stuffs in Bor have doubled over the last four weeks following the onset of rainy season and shipping cost of goods from Khartoum.
Another Somalia trader, Hammed Yusuf outlined the challenges they faced while trying to get goods to the Jonglei via Juba-Bor roads saying the tax collectors at the borders and the state exaggerated taxes, accusing them of collecting tariffs more than one.
Yusuf said they are sometimes threatened by tax officers who forced to offload goods just for delay. He said he had lost one of his turn boys last year when they were attack on Juba-Bor road near Mongala by an armed gang of six young men with AK47 and GM3 rifles.
The indefinite increase in food prices has directly affected the local populations in both town and in the villages who live on less than a dollar per day.
Ayen Ater, 34, a woman from Anyidi Payam who came for shopping in Bor told Sudan Tribune that she found it difficult to meet the new market prices.
Ayen said she came to buy either a bag of 50kg of maize flour or sorghum for her family but her pocket did not allow her to get any.
“Prices are high, nobody can afford to buy”, she said. “Everybody is getting hungry.”
Low food production in the region is linked to the violence and high level of insecurity. Most of villagers abandon their agriculture and flee conflict areas to the twons.
Local farmers who feared being killed at their fields have now migrated to towns where shelters, food and other basic needs are hard to come by.
Two weeks ago, a village of Cuei-Nyok was attacked by unknown gunmen at late midnight, killing a man and his wife, forcing the residents to quit for Bor town.
The fear of attacks from fugitives and cattle thieves has surged rural to town migrations resulting into slums in town as the poor majority are unable to get lands for settlement.
The state assembly has recently passed the land bill entailing third class plot fees of 400 SDG, the poor villages will be screened out from getting lands.
The state government promised to protect the civilians in the villages to reduce the fleeing the population from leaving their residential areas but little has been done so far.
The state government officials were not available to make comments.
(ST)
dinkador1
Jonglei hits by soaring food prices
No food, only war and rebelion, dont kill,cultivate for your life.
Homeboy
Jonglei hits by soaring food prices
No food,only war rebellion, that is absolutely true, that is the very typical of jongei community. They are used to being fed by relief aid, hence can’t sustain themselves. Why not utilize the fertile soils of the state to produce your own products instead of depending on humanitarian aid or food from Khartoum, Uganda and Kenya? Style please and give us a break, we are tired of reading negative stories about Jonglei.
dinkador1
Jonglei hits by soaring food prices
MR HOMEBOY,
Cleaver man. this dinkas wants free things, (1)food, cars, houses, etc.
Good killers,stillig properties, and using force.named DINKAS.
LET SOUTHERNS GET RIDE OF THEM,JUST AFTER OUR FREEDOM NO JOKE WITH DINKAS OR CAWS.
aguach arab
Jonglei hits by soaring food prices
to dinkador and homeboy.
my brothers,you are totally out yr senses,first and farmost Jonglei state is not being inhabited by dinka alone.There are different ethnics groups in that state who even traces their origin to equatoria region.you are being jeolous of dinka without proper analysis of the real situation.i have noted on this forum that you two make critism which is baseless and always out of point;something contrary to what some sensible beings believe.the current high prices is not being experienced in jonglei only but all over sudan and world at large if at all you people follows the news.i caution you this time to stop dividing south sudanese along tribal line something that arabs have been using as a tool to achieve their greedness.i know you are outside sudan otherwise you wouldn,t talk carelesslly like that.am not a dinka but someone for change regardless of any affiliations.
Homeboy
Jonglei hits by soaring food prices
Hey man, you missed the point as much you are a dinka bor, you have every right to defend your community, but let me re educate you that the dinka bor are naturally lazy people in south sudan. They have not recovered from the hangover of relief supplies, which are no longer available. I want you to be assured that I’m in side south sudan and observing this complain from your community on daily basis. Much as you contend that the soaring food prices are globally witnessed, how come only Jonglei out of the ten states in south sudan is complaining? May be you want to tell the readers of this forum that the soaring prices are not exprienced in upper nile state, lakes state, northern bahr ghazal state etc. Come back to your senses and grow up. Call a spade a spade.