Hon. Kim Gai, MP at the East African Legislative Assembly - Courtesy

A lawmaker from the East African Legislative Assembly is calling on South Sudan to expedite the domestication of a treaty, enabling traders to freely export goods across regional borders.

Hon. Kim Gai, the EALA member, highlights the pending laws yet to be ratified by South Sudan, hindering the country’s ability to engage in trade freely like other EAC partner states.

This call follows difficulties faced by South Sudanese fishmongers, including denied licenses, transit restrictions to Congo, and heavy taxation.

Kim explains that the Council of Ministers was tasked with drafting the bill, sending it to Parliament for approval, and then receiving presidential assent to enact it into law. However, this process has been delayed as the council prioritizes bills related to the peace agreement.

Acknowledging the challenge posed by the pending customs duty law, Kim emphasizes its impact on all traders, particularly those exporting goods to East African countries.

He notes that stakeholders met in February and agreed that the Ministry of Justice should expedite the domestication of the treaty.

Kim also attempted to approach the Minister of Justice, who stated that there are provisional orders from the Council of Ministers prioritizing bills aligned with the peace agreement.

South Sudan has yet to ratify or domesticate the treaty, as mandated by Article 8 (2) of the East African Community treaty,” explained Hon. Kim.

“Since joining the Community, the process entails the Council of Ministers drafting the bill, sending it to Parliament for approval, and receiving assent from the head of state,” he explained.

“Until now, South Sudan has not taken these necessary steps, presenting a significant challenge for all our traders. Our institutions and relevant ministries are not cooperating effectively to address this issue.”

“As lawmakers, we were in Juba in February, we met all the stakeholders of the Minister of Justice, the Minister of EAC, the Minister of Trade, and the Revenue Authority.

“We agreed that domestication of the treaty, the Minister of Justice should fast-track and I met the Ministry of Justice and said that there are provisions order from the council of Ministers which was the resolution that all the bills or laws that are not part of the peace agreement should not be present to the Cabinet.”