Business, bus trips to South Sudan picking up

Jan 24, 2014

The effects of the defeat of rebels in the South Sudanese towns of Bor and Malakal a few days ago are fast being felt hundreds of kilometres away in Uganda among the business community.

By John Masaba  

The effects of the defeat of rebels in the South Sudanese towns of Bor and Malakal a few days ago are fast being felt hundreds of kilometres away in Uganda among the business community.

New Vision has learnt that this week trips from Kampala to Juba have gone up significantly in the last few days. At Arua Park the volume of cargo trucks departing Kampala for South Sudan has also gone up.

Stephen Odongkara, the deputy Police Commander Integrated Highways told New Vision that the number of buses departing Kampala for Juba daily has shot up from 14 up from about six.

Odongkara, who monitors movement of vehicles on Kampala-Juba route, said: “I am in touch with SPLA officers on the other side of the border and they have assured me traffic is moving well.”

Agents of a number of bus companies that ply the Juba route told New Vision that they have noticed an upsurge in the number of passengers booking tickets. Some of the companies plying the Juba route include Bakulu coach, Baby Coach, Friendship, Simba, Lol, Iman and Kampala coach 

An agent of Bakulu Coach said they had also reduced the fares because it is now less risky to go to Juba. It now costs between sh50,000 to sh65,000 to travel from Kampala to Juba by bus — down from sh100,000 two weeks ago.

Robert Acidri, a truck driver, who said he had received two bookings from South Sudanese business men to transport cargo to Juba this week so far, was upbeat.

“It is great to be getting business again. I hear there are still a lot of roadblocks, which makes the trip longer, but that is ok.”

Violence flared up in Juba in mid-December last year and later spread to other key towns, resulting in the death of over 1,000 people and displacement hundreds of thousands.

But the calm returning after the defeat of the rebel forces by a combined force of South Sudan army and Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) in the last few days has given the country a renewed hope.

Salume Keke, one of the travelers bound for Juba, who was returning after fleeing the fighting in December, said she hopes to resume her food kiosk business at Customs in Juba next week.

Asked if it was not early for her to be returning, she said: “My children will be returning to school next week. Where do I get fees if I don’t go back?”

Kacita against the return

When contacted about the development, Kacita said it was not yet time for Ugandans to begin returning to South Sudan.

“As Kacita anybody going to any part of South Sudan does not have our blessing. It is still premature for anyone to risk their life regardless of any amount of profit,” said Kacita’s spokesperson, Issa Sekiito.

He added: “We have lost many colleagues. Most of them their bodies have not yet been returned.”

He said although there is a cessation in fighting, the situation is not yet safe.

Over the past five years, South Sudan has been the main destination for Uganda traders.   

According to Bank of Uganda, in 2012, Uganda exported goods worth $403.68m (sh1 trillion) to Sudan. As of November 2013, exports stood at $238m (sh528.7b), which was nearly equal to all our exports to Asia, Middle East and the Americas combined (which totaled $272m).

During the same period, Uganda imported $6m (sh15b) worth of goods from South Sudan.

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