Ugandan traders seek $41m compensation from S. Sudan
January 1, 2012 (NIMULE) — The Government of South Sudan will have to part with $14m as compensation to South Sudan Traders Association Limited (STAL), a Ugandan body which claims its members lost numerous properties while dealing with their South Sudanese counterparts.
Other claims, the state-owned New Vision newspaper reported, includes alleged harassment, confiscation of goods and property and the failure of the South Sudan government or individuals to pay for goods and services supplied by Ugandan traders.
The decision, it says, emerged after a committee set up to review and verify various trade disputes and claims from traders in both countries, submitted its findings to Uganda’s Trade and Industry minister, Amelia Kyambadde.
Both governments, according to the newspaper, verified the compensation claims handled by the trade dispute arbitration committee.
Aponye Uganda Limited ($8m), Afro Kai Limited ($2.58m) and Sunrise are some of the Ugandan firms earmarked for compensation from South Sudan government, in addition to other single claimants.
South Sudan, which officially gained independence on July 09, recently submitted its application to join the East African Community (EAC), a regional block that currently comprises Uganda, Kenyan, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi.
However, with South Sudan’s potential integration, the EAC, analysts say, remains on the verge of creating one of the biggest and potentially wealthier economic blocks on the African continent by the sheer size of the market, 130 million people and resource base.
In 2008, Uganda’s exports to South Sudan reportedly grew by 181 percent from $91.7 million in 2006 to 257.9 million two years later, according to statistics from Uganda’s trade and industry ministry.
In 2009, however, South Sudan was ranked as the number one market destination for Uganda’s exports. In February 2010, Uganda and South Sudan signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at improving trade relations between the two neighboring nations.
Currently, an estimated 150,000 Ugandan traders are believed to be involved in several business-related activities across the 10 state of the newly independent South Sudan. The majority of them deal in general merchandise, supply of food stuffs and in the construction industry.
(ST).