William Anyuon Kuol, Minister of Trade and Industry. (PPU).

The diplomatic community in South Sudan has continued to express concern over the ministerial order from the Minister of Trade and Industry, mandating e-petroleum fees for all imported petroleum products.

This reaction follows the recent implementation of the order by Minister William Anyuon Kuol, which introduced e-government tariffs and e-petroleum accreditation permit fees a week ago.

According to the order, all petroleum products destined for South Sudan must get an e-petroleum product accreditation permit.

The order does not allow exemptions on e-petroleum permits.

“The e-petroleum accreditation permit does not apply to government exemptions.”

The embassies of Canada, the European Union, France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States have called on the transitional government to immediately rescind the order.

The embassies have described the order as having illicit and unacceptable costs for donor governments, the United Nations Mission in South Sudan, UN agencies, and their implementing partners.

Embassies are particularly concerned about the imposition of a petroleum accreditation permit requirement on UN fuel trucks.

They claim that the order is preventing humanitarian trucks, funded by their governments, from bringing fuel into South Sudan to support UN operations.

“This illicit action is severely impacting the ability of UNMISS, UN humanitarian agencies, and humanitarian partners to conduct their mission in support of the South Sudanese people.”.

On April 22, 2024, the e-governance tariff and e-petroleum accreditation permit fees went into effect.