The Mayor of Juba has called on traders to report any illegal tax collectors to the nearest police station.

This comes after some traders told Eye Radio that they are harassed and intimidated everyday by tax collectors from the City Council.

They say the tax collectors are nowadays charging them what they call service fee – something they do not understand.

Each shop owner is forced to pay an amount ranging from 25 to 50,000 pounds monthly, claiming that it is an order from the Office of the Mayor.

“Some individuals or group of people have been collecting taxes in the name of the mayor of Juba city. It is considered to be illegal and is a serious crime,” said Mayor Stephen Wani Michael.

He told reporters on Thursday that his office has deployed security to arrest illegal money collectors from traders.

“The authority Juba city council is issuing this announcement warning those individual or group to cease malpractices,” added Mr Wani.

The tax collectors allegedly manage to do this with the help of police, mainly in Konyo-konyo, Malakia and Kator, according to trader.

And any shop owner who tries to question them is threatened with detention or closure of his or her shop.