Minister of Finance and Planning Agak Achuil (left) and Hon. Changkuoth Bichok, Chairperson of the Parliamentary Committee on Economy jointly address the media after a summon of three ministers by the parliament. | 26th July 2022. | Charles Wote/Eye Radio.

The Specialized Committee on Finance and Planning at the national parliament has directed the Minister of Finance and Planning to suspend all illegal and unnecessary tax collections with immediate effect.

The Committee believes the unnecessary collection of tax along transit routes contributes to increase in commodity prices in the market.

Finance Minister Agak Achuil, and Transport Minister Madut Biar appeared before the parliamentary economic committee to respond to queries on high prices in the market.

The Minister of Trade and Industry, Kuol Athian, and the heads of revenues generating institutions in the country were also summoned on the same issue.

Hon. Changkuoth Bichok Reth, the Chairperson of the specialized committee at the reconstituted TNLA urged the Finance Minister to operate within the Financial Act during revenue collection.

“There are some collections that are being done in Mombasa, in Nimule that are not in the financial bill or financial act,” said Hon. Changkuoth, adding that the Act does not permit any collections outside of its mandate.

The summon of the ministers comes as the country grapples with skyrocketing prices and inflation that threatens to grind the economy to bankruptcy.

Early this week, traders at the Konyo-Konyo market lamented the fluctuating dollar rate, saying it affects the prices of goods.

As of Wednesday, 1 US dollar is being sold at 623 pounds according to the daily exchange rate from the Bank of South Sudan.

Hon. Changkuoth directed the Minister of Finance to cancel illegal and unnecessary collection of taxes with immediate effect.

“We therefore ask the Minister to cancel all those collections that are not in the bill with immediate effect, because we believe that they are also part of the increase in prices in the markets,”he added.

Comment on the matter, the Minister of Finance Agak Achuil says he will abide by the directives.

“If the members of the house have discovered that there is something going wrong, and they have issued their directives on how to resolve the problem, then the Minister doesn’t have his own position,” he said.

“So I don’t think I have any position, but what I have is to wait for their letter if it is brought to me like tomorrow, I just execute the directives.”

On a separate note, the parliamentary economic committee also directed the Minister of Transport to suspend the transfer of South Sudan transit cargoes from port Mombasa to the Nairobi Container Freight terminal.

On April 14^th, 2022, the Commissioner of Custom division, Gen. Akol Ayii wrote a letter to the Kenyan head of Custom and Border Control, informing him of the new changes.

The Kenyan Port Authority was also directed to channel all goods coming to South Sudan through the Auto-ports, a private company for clearance.

The decision was opposed and termed as illegal by a Mombasa-based maritime company.

According to the lawmakers, the diversion of transit goods to South Sudan through Nairobi is expensive, and has partly contributes to high commodity prices in the market.

The committee said the parliament was not aware of the change of routes for Cargoes coming to South Sudan.

“Normally, South Sudan cargo were being cleared in Mombasa but there was an arrangement that was done which the parliament was not aware of it that cargoes are being diverted from Mombasa to Nairobi,” he said.

Changkuoth claimed the rerouting of goods bound for South Sudan has increased the prices of all the containers that are being destiny to the country.

“Because they are being taken to Nairobi for the clearance there. So we also in the first meeting asked the Minister of transport to suspend the relocation and the cargoes to be cleared from Mombasa.”

Last moth, a maritime logistics company petitioned the Kenya Ports Authority in court for diverting all clearance of South Sudan-bound cargoes to only one private company.

Got Nguge Enterprise, a Mombasa based company cited article 392 of the Kenyan Port Act, which prohibits the authority from consigning goods on behalf of persons to any place within and outside Kenya.

Abdul Latif Ibrahim, one of the clearing agents claimed, the move will deny other players the chance to compete on equal front and the consignee the right to choose service providers.