A kraal of livestock in Juba, photo by Daniel Michael

The South Sudan Butchers Union has threatened to lay down tools in strike over what it describes as unfair treatment by the authorities.

The leader of the union says butchers in Juba have suffered high taxation by different institutions including Juba City Council for using their facilities.

Bol Dut Lula said the group which supplies beef in the city, continues to operate at a loss due to hefty taxes and fees being collected from them.

“We can no longer continue to work, we no longer have money, we are working at a loss, so the butchers think as this situation continues, the butchers say they prefer to stop the slaughter in the city of Juba,” he told Eye Radio yesterday.

Mr. Dut, who spoke on behalf of the union, said several petitions handed to the government in an attempt to have the issue resolved have fallen on deaf ears.

The union now demands that land be allocated to them in order to set up an auction yard and a modern slaughterhouse.

“The government collects health fees as well as the city council from cattle slaughter. We need a place to be used as an auction yard and to build modern cattle slaughter.”

We, as officials, are calling on the government to provide a place to be used as an auction yard. If the government does not provide the place, it means that the butchers will stop working,” he said.

Responding to the matter, the Mayor of Juba said there is no space for a slaughter house in the city.

“In Juba city there is no space for a slaughterhouse, we had one near the stadium, but when I came to office, we found that the place was leased to someone else,” Allah Jabu said.

“During the time of Mayor Christopher Wani, he constructed one slaughterhouse in Jebel, we want to visit it to establish if it still exists or leased to someone else also.

Mayor Allah-Jabu however said the Council met yesterday, and that they will do their part to resolve the matter.
“We met yesterday to find a solution for this problem of butchers, if we find a space near the river, we will tell them, even for the auction yard. We will do our part as the City Council,” he assured.

Michael Ladu Allah Jabu is appealing to the butchers to not lay down their tools as the matter is being addressed.

I’m receiving their complaints for the first time as a mayor. I urge the butchers not to lay down their tools, because we as a government are in need of them and they need us also because they are serving all of us.”

Traders in Juba have often complained of multiple taxation by government agencies, most of whom are unauthorized.