Trucks at the Nimule Customs yard | Credit | Deng Daniel

The Chairperson of Nimule Clearing Agent and Freight Forwarders Association (NCAFFA) has denied allegations that traders are protesting the 350-dollar service charge of the electronic cargo tracking system.

Early this week, the Commissioner for Customs Division directed the mandatory implementation of the Electronic Cargo Tracking Note (ECTN) for all imports and exports to and from South Sudan.

The Customs Division also levied a service fee of 350 US dollars on commercial goods entering or leaving through the Nimule border point.

Following the decision, allegations spread online that truckers have piled up on the Ugandan side of the border as they protest the 350-dollar charge.

Reaction to the situation, Daniel Deng, the head of Clearance Agents in Nimule, said the commercial trucks accumulation at the border is due to the new electronic system.

He says the congestion of trucks at the border is not a protest, but the inconveniences created by the short time frame between the directive and its implementation.

“There is no sign of demonstration by the drivers or the truckers. Only that there’s a slow movement of their cargoes,” he told Eye Radio from Nimule.

“Also, the cost that was introduced has resulted in some irregularities. The communication and the time frame of the implementation was the very short.”

“Because others have to look for the money for the payment but the work for those ones who are already complying is ongoing.”

The Cargo Tracking Note is designed to provide local customs authorities with the required information and visibility about the import shipment.

It is intended to monitor the movement of truckers and avoid diversion of goods from their intended destinations in the region.