Central Equatoria State Governor has formed an ad-hoc committee to investigate persistent disputes over lands and shops at Konyo-konyo Market in Juba – where traders are allegedly double-taxed.

Emmanuel Adil Anthony formed the committee led by the state Minister of Trade and Industry Tom Wani Sebit, and deputized by Acting Juba Mayor Emmanuel Khamis Richard.

The First Director General of the Ministry of Housing, Lands and Public Utilities is the group’s secretary, while other members are the state Head of Legal Administration and Public Prosecution Attorney, representative of the Islamic Council and National Security Service.

They have been tasked to investigate what was referred to as a persistent dispute over “the lands/shops of the Islamic Council at Konyo-Konyo Market,” and to resolve the dispute.

They will submit reports to the governor on a daily basis “until the end of the function as from the date of this Gubernatorial Order.”

Juba City Council and South Sudan Islamic Council have long been battling for ownership of 200 shops at a section of the Konyo-konyo Market.

This situation has reportedly resulted in the harassment and double taxing of traders in ground rental fees, further forcing traders to hike prices in order to cover their losses.

On August 28, 2022, the state Chamber of Commerce requested Juba City Council and the Islamic Council to await a court verdict over their ownership claims of the shops.

Chamber of Commerce Chairperson Robert Pitia told Eye Radio, the conflicting parties should stop taking fees from renting traders until the matter is resolved in court.